
Glass £■ ^ "'.'sJ 

Book.— uA_k_Lil7 



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7 



THE , , , NO. T. 

ANTI-SLAVERY EXAMINER. 



EMANCIPATION 



IN 



THE WEST INDIES. 

SIX MONTHS' TOUR 

IN 

A.NTIGUA, BARBADOES, AND JAMAICA, 

IN 

THE YEAR 1837. 



BY JAS. A. THOME, AND J. HORACE KIMBALL 



Net) "5t orft : 

PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY, 

No. 143 NASSAU-STREET. 1 .■ 



1838, 



This periodical contains 4 sheets.— Postage under 100 miles, 6 cents ; over 100 miles, 10 cents. 

Collected set. 



'4 






^ o ^1 

Entered, 

accordins; to the act of Congress, in the vear 1838, by 

JOHiN RANKIN, 

Treasure of the American Anil-Slavery Society, 

IB -.he Cle-k s Ofiice of the District Court of the United States, for the South?rn District of 

New York. 



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31^ This work, as originally published, can be had at the Depository of the American Anti- 
Slavery Society, No. 143, Nassau Street, New York, on fine paper, handsomely bound, in a volume 
of 481) pages, price one dollar per copy, $75 per hundred. 



CONTENTS. 



ANTIGUA. — CHAPTER I. 

7—24. 

Geosfaphy and Statistics of the Island, 7 — Re- 
flection's on "arrival, 7 — Interview witli Clergy- 
men, 7 — with the Governor, 7 — with a member of 
Assembly, 7 — Sabbath, 8 — Service at the Mora- 
vian Chapel, 8 — Sabbath School, 8 — Service at 
the Episcopal Church, 8 — Service at the Wesley- 
an Cliapel, 8— Millar's Estate, fl— Cane-holing, 9 
— Colored planter, 9 — Fitch's Creek Estate, 9 — 
Free Villages, 10 — Dinner at the Governor's, 10 
— Donovan's Estate, 11 — Breakfast at Mr. Wat- 
kins, 11 — Dr. Fcrj^uson, 11— Market, 11— Lock- 
up house, 11 — Christmas Holidays, 11— Colored 
Population, Iw — Thibou Jarvis's Estate, 13 — Tes- 
timony of the Manag-er, 12 — Anniversary of the 
Friendly Society, 13 — A negro patriarch, 13 — 
Green Castle Estate, 14 — Testimony of the Man- 
ager, 14 — Anniversary of the Juvenile Associa- 
tion, 14 — Wetherill Estate, 14 — Testimony of the 
Manager, 14 — Conversation with a boatman, 15 
— Moravian station at Ncwfield, 15 — Testimony 
of the Missionaries, 15 — School for Adults, 15 — 
Interview with the Speaker of the Assembly, 15 — 
Moravian " Speaking," 16 — Conversation with 
Emancipated Slaves, IG — The Rector of St. Phil- 
ip's, 16 — Frey's Estate, 16 — Interview with the 
American Consul, 17 — Sabbath at Millar's, 17 — 
Breakfast at the Villa Estate, 17 — A Fair, 17 — 
Breakfast at Mr. Cranstoun's, 17 — His Testi- 
mony, 17 — Moravian Station at Cedar Hall, IS — 
Conversation with Emancipated Slaves, 18 — Mo- 
ravian Station at Grace Bay, 18 — Testimony of 
the Missionaries, 19 — Grandfather Jacob, 19 — 
Mr. Scotland's Estate. 20— A day at Fitch's 
Creek, 20 — Views of the Manager, 20 — A call 
from the Archdeacon, 20 — from Rev. Edward Era- 
ser, 20 — Wesleyan District Meeting, 21 — Social 
interviews with the Missionaries, 21 — Their 
Views and Testimony, 21 — Religious Anniver- 
saries, 21 — Temperance Society, 21 — Bible So- 
ciety, 22 — Wesleyan Missionary Society, 22 — 
Resolution of the Meeting, 23 — Laying the Corner 
Stone of a Wesleyan Chapel, 23 — Resolutions 
of the Missionaries, 24. 

ANTIGUA. — CHAPTER II. 

GENERAT, RESULTS. 

^—34. 

Religion, 25 — Statistics of Denominations, 25 
— Morality, 26 — Reverence for the Lord's Day, 28 
— Marriage, 26 — Conjugal faithfulness, 26 — Con- 
cubinage decreasing, 26 — Temperance, 27 — Pro- 
fane Language rare, 27 — Statistics of the Bible 
Society, 27— Missionary Associations, 28 — Tem- 
perance Societies, 28 — Friendly Societies, 28 — 
Daily Meal Society, 28 — Distressed Females' 
Friend Society, 29— Education, 29— Annual Ex- 
amination of the Parochial School, 29 — Infant 
Schools in the Country, 30 — Examination at Par- 
ham, 30— at WilloughbyBay,31— Mr. Thwaite's 
Replies to Clueries on Education, 31 — Great Igno- 
rance before Emancipation, 32-— Aptness of the 
Negroes to learn, 33— Civil and Political Condi- 
tion of the Emancipated, IW. 



ANTIGUA.— CHAPTER III. 

FACTS AND TESTIMONY. 

34—52. 

Immediate Aboi^ition — an immense change in 
the condition of the Slave, 34 — Adopted from Po- 
litical and Pecuniary Considerations, 35 — Went 
into operation peaceably, 3(3 — gave additional se- 
curity to Persons and Property, 37 — Is regarded 
'oy all as a great blessing to the Island, 39 — Free, 
cheaper than Slave labor, 40 — More work done, 
and better done, since Emancipation, 40 — Free- 
men more easily managed than Slaves, 41 — The 
Emancipated moreTrustworthy than when Slaves, 
43 — They appreciate and reverence Law, 43 — 
They stay at home and mind their own business, 
46 — Arc less " insolent" than when Slaves, 47 — 
Gratitude a strong trait of their character, 4"?— 
Emancipation has elevated them, 48 — It has raised 
the price of Real Estate, given new life to Trade, 
and to all kinds of business, 49 — Wrought a total 
change in the views of the Planters, 49 — Weak- 
ened Prejudice against Color, 51 — The Discus- 
sions preceding Emancipation restrained Masters 
from Cruelties, 52 — Concluding Remarks, 52. 
BARBADOES. 
53—84. 

Passage to Barbadoes, 53 — Bridgetown, 53 — 
Visit to the Governor, 54— To the Archdeacon, 54 
— Lear's Estate, 55— Testimony of the Manager, 
55 — Dinner Party at Lear's, 57 — Ride to Scot- 
land, 57 — The Red Shanks, 57 — Sabbath at 
Lear's ; Religious Service, 58 — Tour to the Wind- 
ward, 59 — Breakfast Party at the Colliton Estate, 
59 — Testimony to the Working of the Appren- 
ticeship, 59 — The Working of it in Demerara, 60 
— The Codrinffton Estate, 60 — Codrington Col- 
lege, 60— The ^' Horse," 60— An Estate on Fire, 
61 — The Ridge Estate ; Dinner with a Company 
of Planters, 61 — A Day at Colonel Ashby's ; his 
Testimony to the Working of the Apprentice- 
ship, 61 — Interviews with Planters ; their Testi- 
mony, 62, 63 — The Belle Estate, 63 — Edgeccmbe 
Estate ; Colonel Barrow, 64 — Horton Estate, 64 
— Drax Hall Estate, 64r — Dinner Party at the 
Governor's, 64 — Testimony concerning the Ap- 
prenticeship, 65 — Market People, 66 — Interview 
with Special Justice Hamilton ; his Testimony, 
66 — Station House, District A ; Trials of Ap- 
prentices before Special Magistrate Colthurst, 67 
— Testimony of the Superintendent of the Rural 
Police, 68 — Communication from Special Justice 
Colthurst, 59 — Communication from Special Jus- 
tice Hamilton, 70 — Testimony of Clergymen and 
Missionaries, 70 — Curate of St. Paul's, 71 — A 
Free Church, 71— A Sabbath School Annual Ex- 
amination, 71 — Interview with Episcopal Clergy- 
men ; their Testimony, 71— Visit to Schools, 71 
— Interview with the Superintendent of the Wes- 
leyan Mission, 71 — Persecutionof the Methodists 
by Slaveholders, 71 — The Moravian Mission, 
72 — Colored Population, 72 — Dinner Party at 
Mr. Harris's, 72 — Testimony concerning the ob- 
jects of our Mission, 72 — A New Englander, 73 
—History of an Emancipated Slave, 73 — Break- 
fast Party at Mr. Thome's, 73— Facts and Testi- 
mony concerning Slavery and the Apprentice- 



CONTENTS. 



ship, 74 — History of an Emancipated Slave, 74 
Breakfast Party at Mr. Prescod's, 74 — Character 
and History of the late Editor of the New Times, 
74— Breakfast Party at Mr. Bourne's, 75— Preju- 
dice, 75 — History and Character of an Emanci- 
pated Slave, 75 — Prejudice, vincible, 75— Concu- 
binage, 7fi— Barbadoes as it was ; " Reign of 
Terror," 76— Testimony ; Cruelties, 77— Insur- 
rection of 1816, 78— Licentiousness, 79— Preju- 
dice, 7y — Indolence and Inefficiency of the Whites, 
79— Hostility to Emancipation, 80 — Barbadoes as 
It is, 80— The Apprenticeship System; Provis- 
ions respecting the Special Magistrates, 81 — Pro- 
visions respecting the Master, 81 — Provisions 
respecting the Apprentice, 81— The Design of 
the Apprenticeship, 82— Practical Operation of 
the Apprenticeship, 82— Sympathy of the Special 
Magistrates with the Masters, 82— Apprentice- 
ship, modified Slavery, 83— Vexatious to the 
Master, 83— No Preparation for Freedom, 83— 
Begets hostility between Master and Apprentice, 
83 — Has illustrated the Forbearance of the Ne- 
groes, 83 — Its tendency to exasperate them, 83 — 
Testimony to the Working of the Apprentice- 
ship in the Windward Islands generally, 84. 

JAMAICA. 
85-114. 

Sketch of its Scenery, 85 — Interview with the 
Attorney General, 85 — The Solicitor General ; 
his Testimony, 85— The American Consul ; his 
Testimony, 85 — The Superintendent of the Wes- 
leyan Missions, 86— The Baptist Missionaries; 
Sabbath; Service in a Baptist Chapel, 86 — Mora- 
vians ; Episcopalians ; Scotch Presbyterians, 86 — 
Schools in Kingston, 87 — Communication from 
the Teacher of the Wolmer Free School ; Educa- 
tion ; Statistics, 87— The Union School, 88— 
"Prejudice Vincible," 88— Disabilities and Per- 
secutions of Colored People, 88 — Edward Jor- 
dan, Esq., 88 — Colored Members of Assembly, 89 
— Richard Hill, Esq., 89 — Colored Artisans and 
Merchants in Kingston, 89 — Police Court of 
Kingston, 90 — American Prejudice in the " lim- 
bos," 90— "Amalgamation!" 91— St. Andrew's 
House of Correction; Tread-mill, 91 — Tour 
through " St. Thomas in the East," 92— Morant 
Bay ; Local Magistrate ; his lachrymal fore- 
bodings, 92 — Proprietor of Green Wall Estate ; 
his Testimony, 92 — Testimony of a Wesleyan 
Missionary, 92 — Belvidere Estate ; Testimony of 
the Manager, 92 — Chapel built by Apprentices, 
93 — House of Correction, 93 — Chain-Gang, 93 — 
A call from Special Justice Baines ; his Testi- 
mony, 93 — Bath, 94— Special Justice's Office; his 
Testimony, 94—" Alarming Rebellion," 94— Tes- 
tim y of a Wesleyan Missionaiy, 95 — Princi- 
pal of the Mico Charity School ; his Testimony, 
95 — Noble instance of Filial Affection in a Ne- 
gro Girl, 96- Plantain Garden River Valley; 
Alexander Barclay, Esq., 96— Golden Grove Es- 
tate ; Testimony of the Manager, 96 — The Cus- 
tos of the Parish; his Testimony, 96 — Amity 
Hall Estate ; Testimony of the Manager, 97— 
Lord Belmore's Prophecy, 97 — Manchioneal ; 
Special Magistrate Chamberlain ; his Testimony, 



97— his Weekly Court, 98— Pro slavery gnash. 

mgs, 98— Visit with the Special Magistrate to the 
Williamsfield Estate; Testimony of the Man- J 
ager, 98— Oppression of Book-keepers, 98— Sab- 
bcUh ; Service at a Baptist Chapel, 99— Interview 
with Apprentices; their Testimony, 99— Tour 
tbrough St. Andrew's and Port Royal, 101— 
Visit to Estates in company with Special' Justice 
Bourne, 101— White Emigrants to Jamaica, 101 
—Dublin Castle Estate; Special Justice Court, 
101 — A Despot in convulsions ; arbitrary power 
dies hard, 101- Encounter with Mules in a moun- 
tain pass, 102— Silver Hill Estate ; cases tried : 
Appraisement of an Apprentice, 102— Peter's 
Rock Estate, 103— Hall's Prospect Estate, 103— 
Female Traveling Merchant, 103— Negro Pro- 
vision Grounds, l03— Apprentices eager to work 
for Money, 104— Jury of Inquest, 104— Character 
of Overseers, 104 — Conversation with Special ^ 
Justice Hamilton, 104— With a Proprietor of Es- 
tates and Local Magistrate ; Testimony, i04— 
Spanishtown, 104 — Richard Hill, Esq., Secretary 
of the Special Magistracy, 104 — Testimony of 
Lord Sligo concerning him, 105 — Lord Siigo's 
Administration; its independence and impar- 
tiality, 105— Statements of Mr. Hill, 105— Stale, 
ments of Special Justice Ramsey, 107— Special 
Justice's Court, 107 — Baptist Missionary at Span- 
ishtov/n ; his Testimony, 107— Actual Working 
of the Apprenticeship ; no Insurrection ; no fear 
of it ; no Increase of Crime ; Negroes improving ; 
Marriage increased ; Sabbath better kept ; Reli- 
gious Worship better attended ; Law oljeyed, 108 
— Apprenticeship vexatious to both parties, 108 — 
Atrocities perpetrated by Masters and Magis- 
trates, 108 — Causes of the ill-working of the Ap- i 
prenticeship, 108 — Provisions of the Emancipa- 
tion Act defeated by Planters and Magistrates, 
109 — The present Governor a favorite with the 
Planters, 109 — Special Justice Palmer suspended 
by him, 109 — Persecution of Special Justice 
Bourne, 109 — Character of the Special Magis- 
trates, 110 — Official Cruelty; Correspondence be- 
tween a Missionary and Special Magistrate, 110 
— Sir Lionel Smith's Message to the House ot 
Assembly, 111 — Causes of the Diminished Crops 
since Emancipation, 112 — Anticipated Conse- 
quences of full Emancipation in 1840, 113 — Ex- 
amination of the grounds of such anticipations, 
113 — Views of Missionaries ayd Colored People, 
Magistrates and Planters, 114 — Concluding Re- 
marks, 114. 

APPENDIX. 

11.5—126. "-0. 

Official Communication from Special Justice 
Lyon, 115 — Communication from tJie Solicitor 
General of Jamaica, 117 — Communication from 
Special Justice Colthurst, 117 — Official Returns ot 
the Imports and Exports of Barbadoes, 118 — 
Valuations of Apprentices in Jamaica, 118 — Tab- 
ular View of the Crops in Jamaica for fifty-three 
years preceding 1836; Comments of the Jamaica 
Watchman on the foregoing Table, 119 — Com- 
ments of the Spanishtown Telegraph, ISO- 
Brougham's Speech in Parliament, 121. 



INTRO D U CTION 



It is hardly possible that the success of British 
West India Emancipation should be more con- 
clusively proved, than it has been by the absence 
among us of the exultation which awaited its 
failure. So many thousands of the citizens of 
the United Slates, without counting slaveholders, 
would not have suffered their prophesyings to be 
falsified, if they could have found whereof to 
manufacture fulfilment. But it is remarkable 
mat, even since the first of August, 1834, the 
evils of West India emancipation on the lips of 
the advocates of slavery, or, as the most of them 
nicely prefer to be termed, the opponents of aboli- 
tion, have remained in th? future tense. The bad 
reports of the newspapers, spiritless as they have 
been compared with the predictions, have been 
traceable, on the slightest inspection, not to eman- 
cipation, but to the illegal continuance of slavery, 
under the cover of its legal substitute. Not the 
slightest reference to the rash a>ct, whereby the 
thirty thousand slaves of Antigua were immedi- 
ately " turned loose," now mingles with the 
croaking which strives to defend our republican 
slavery against argument and common sense. 

The Executive Committee of the American 
Anti-Slavei-y Society, deemed it important that 
the silence which the pro-slavery press of the 
United States has seemed so desirous to maintain 
in regard to what is strangely enough termed 
the " great experiment of freedom," should be 
thoroughly broken up by a publication of facts 
and testimony collected on the spot. To this 
end. Rev. James A. Thome, and Joseph H. Kim- 
BALL, Esq., were deputed to the "West Indies to 
make the proper investigations. Of their quali- 
fications for the task, the subsequent pages will 
furnish the best evidence : it is proper, however, 
to remark, that Mr. Thome is thoroughly ac- 
quainted with our own system of slavery, being 
a native and still a resident of Kentucky, and 
the son of a slaveholder, (happily no longer so.) 
and that Mr. Kimball is well known as the able 
editor of the Herald of Freedom, published at 
Concord, New Hampshire. 

They sailed from New York, the last of No- 
vember, 1836, and returned early in June, 1837. 
They improved a short stay at the Danish island 
of St. Thomas, to give a description of slavery as 



it exists there, which, as it appeared for the most 
part in the anti-slavery papers, and as it is not 
directly connected with the great question at issue, 
has not been inserted in the present volume. 
Hastily touching at some of the other British 
islands, they made Antigua, Barbadoes, and Ja- 
maica, successively the objects of their deliberate 
and laborious study — as fairly presenting the 
three grand phases of the " experiment" — Anti 
gua, exemplifying immediate unrestricted aboli- 
tion ; Barbadoes, the best working of the appren- 
ticeship, and Jamaica the worst. Nine weeks 
were spent in Antigua, and the remainder of their 
time was divided between the other two islands. 

The reception of the delegates was in the 
highest degree favorable to the promotion of their 
object, and their work will show how well they 
have used the extraordinary facilities afforded 
them. The committee have, in some instances, 
restored testimonials which their modesty led 
them to suppress, showing in what estimation 
they themselves, as well as the object of their 
mission, were held by some of the most distin- 
guished persons in the islands which they visiird. 

So wide was the field before them, and so rich 
and various the fruit to be gathered, that they 
were tempted to go far beyond the strength 
supplied by the failing health they carried with 
them. Most nobly did they postpone every per- 
sonal consideration to the interests of the cause, 
and the i-eader will, we think, agree with us, 
that they have achieved a result which undimin- 
ished energies could not have been expected to 
exceed — a result sufficient, if any thing could be, 
to justify the sacrifice it cost them. We regret 
to add that the labors and exposures of Mr. 
Kimball, so far prevented his recovery from the 
disease* which obliged him to resort to a milder 
climate, or perhaps we should say aggravated it, 
that he has been compelled to leave to his col- 
league, aided by a friend, nearly the whole bur- 

* We learn that Mr. Kimball closed his mortal career 
at Pembroke, N. H. April 12th, in the 25th year of his age. 
Very few men in the Anti-Slavery cause have been more 
distinguished, than this lamented brother, for the zeal, 
discretion and ability with which he has advocated ths 
cause of the oppressed. "Peace to the memory of s 
man of worth!" 



VI 



INTRODUCTION. 



deii of preparing for the press — which, together 
with the great labor of condensing from the im- 
mense amount of collected materials, ticcounts for 
the delay of the publication. As neither Mr. 
Thome nor Mr. Kimball were here while the work 
was in the press, it is not improbable that trivial 
errors have occurred, especially in the names of 
individuals. 

ft will be perceived that the delegates rest 
nothing of importance on their own unattested 
observation. At every point they are fortified by 
the statements of a multitude of responsible per- 
sons in the islands, whose names, when not for- 
bidden, they have taken the liberty to use in be- 
half of humanity. Many of these statements 
were given in the handwriting of the parties, and 
are in the possession of the Executive Committee. 
Most of these island authorities are as unchal- 
lengeable on the score of previous leaning towards 
abolitionism, as Mr. McDuffie or Mr. Calhoun 
would be two years hence, if slavery were to be 
abolished throughout the United States to-mor- 
row. 

Among the points established in this work, 
beyond the power of dispute or cavil, are the 
following : 

1. That the act )f IMMEDIATE EMANCI- 
PATION in Antigua, was not attended witli 
any disorder whatever. 

2. That the emancipated slaves have readily, 



EXPLANATION OF TERMS 

1. The words 'Clergy' and 'Missionary' are 
used to distinguish between the ministers of the 
English or Scotch church, and tliose of all other 
denominations. 

2. The terms ' church ' and 'chapel' denote a 
corresponding distinction in the places of wor- 
ship, though tiie English Church have what are 
technically called ' chapels of ease I ' 

3. ' Manager' and ' overseer' are terms desig- 
nating in different islands the same station. In 
Antigua and Barbadoes, manager is the word in 
general use, in Jamaica it is overseer — both mean- 
ing the practical conductor or immediate super- 
intendent of an estate. In our own country, a 
peculiar odnim is attached to the latter term. In 
the "West Indies, the station of manager or 
overseer is ^r>,,,][ipnorabla one ; proprietors of 



faithfully, and efficiently worked for wages from 
the first. 

3. That wherever there has been any disturb- 
ance in the working of the apprenticeship, it has 
been invariably by the fault of the masters, or of 
the officers charged with the execution of the 
'■ Abolition Act." 

4. That the prejudice of ca.ste is fast disap- 
pearing in the emancipated islands. 

.5. That the apprenticeship was not sought for 
b)^ the planters as a preparation for freedom. 

6. That no such preparation was needed. 

7. That the planters who have fairly made the 
" experiment," now greatly prefer the new system 
to the old. 

3. That the emancipated people are perceptibly 
rising in the scale of civilization, morals, and 
religion. 

From these established facts, reason cannot 
fail to make its inferences in favor of the two and 
a half millions of slaves in our republic. We 
present the work to our countrymen who yet 
hold slaves, with the utmost confidence that its 
perusal will not leave in their minds a doubt, 
either of the duty or perfect safety of immediate 
einancipalion, however it may fail to persuade 
their hearts — which God grant it may not ! 

By order of the Executive Committee of the 
American Anti-Slavery Society. 

New York, April 28th, 1838. 



USED IN THE NARRATIVE. 

estates, and even men of rank, do not hesitate to 
occupy it. 

4. The terms ' colored ' and ' black ' or ' negro ' 
indicate a distinction long kept up in the West 
Indies between the mixed blood and the pure 
negro. The former as a body were few previous 
to the abolition act ; and for this reason chiefly 
we presume the term of distinction was originally 
applied to them. To have used these terms inter- 
changeably in accordance with the usage in the ■{ 
United States, would have occasioned endless ' 
confusion in the narrative. 

5. ' Preedial' and ' non-prccdial ' are terms vised 
in the apprenticeship colonies to mark the dilTer- 
ence between the agricultural class and the do- 
mestic ; the former are called pnidials, the latter 
7ion-pr(Bdial$. 



POPULATION OF THE BRITISH 

(^Covipiled from recent 

Britisli Colonics, White Slave. F. Col'd. Total. 

Ansiiilla 355 2,388 357 3,110 

Antigua'.. ..i...V.;.'.'V..... .1,^80 2V3'J 3,^!'5 35,714 

Bahiinas »..4,ai0 9,268 2,9i)l 1(3,499 

Barbadoes.... s^.,,,k,.i,^.. 15,000 82,000 5,100 102.100 

Bcrbicet ?..„.. I;. V;.,.. .550 21,300 1,150 2:3,000 

Bonnmla* .':'..:'.'...[';': '.3,900 4,600 740 9,240 

Cape of Good Hopet..' 43,000 .3.5,.-00 29.000 107,.50O 

Bcuicrarat ...,, 3,000 70,000 6,400 79,400 

DtMriiiiica -:.,,.[... ..'^.50 15.400 3.600 19,<W0 

Ci-on-ifh ......;..'.... ^00 '2'.0i'.0 f-<iO -.T.'-IV) 

lloadardst i;>;! 2,100 -,Ji:o i,'j:o 

Jamaica 37,000 323,000 55,000 41.5,000 

* These islands adopted irametJiate t;manoipafjon, Aug. 1, lS3i. 



(FORMERLY SLAVE) COLONIES. 
authentic documents. ) 

Biitish Colonies. While. Slave. F. Col'd. Total. 

Mauritiust 8,000 76,OC0 15,000 99,000 

Montserrat 330 6,-:0G 800 7,330 

Nevis ''00 6,600 2,000 9,300 

St. Christopher.s ^ , gj^ jg ojg 3000 23,9':^ 

St. Kitts S 

St. Luciai ^^0 13,600 3,700 18,2SO 

St. Vincent 1,300 23,500 2,800 27,(00 

Tobago 3:.0 I2..^00 1,-00 14.020 

Toriola .»•...,... 4S0 , 5,400 1,300 7. 180 

Ti-hrdadt '...' 4,-^10 24.000 16,000 4!,2!iO 

Va-fiiu Ible.. '-Of^ 5>'0l3 60n r.,m 

Total 131,257 831,105 162,733 1,125,095 

< Those arc orown colooioB, wid have no local I<«i«latuTe. 



ANTIGUA 



"H AFTER I. 

I Antigda is about eio:bteen miles long and fifteen 
broad; the interior is low and undulating, the 
toast mountaincuii. From the heights on the 
i^oast the whole island may be taken in at one 
view, and in a clear day the ocean can be seen 
entirely around the land, with the exception of a 
few miles of cliff in one quarter. The population 
of Antigua is about 37,000, of whom 30,000 are 
negroes — lately slaves— 4500 are free people of 
color, and "2500 are whites. 

The cultivation of the island is principally in 
sugar, of which the average annual crop is 15,000 
hogsheads. Antigua is one of the oldest of the 
British West India colonies, and ranks high in 
importance and influence. Owing to the propor- 
tion of proprietors resident in the island, there is 
an accumulation of talent, intelligence and refine- 
ment, greater, perhaps, than in any English colony, 
excepting Jamaica. 

Our solicitude on entering the Island of Anti- 
gua was intense. Charged with a mission so 
nearly concerning the political and domestic in- 
stitutions of the colony, we might well be doubt- 
ful as to the manner of our reception. We knew 
indeed that slavery was abolished, that Antigua 
had rejected the apprenticeship, and adopted en- 
tire emancipation. We knew also, that the free 
system had surpassed the hopes of its advocates. 
But we were in the midst of those whose habits 
and sentiments had been formed under the influ- 
ences of slavery, whose prejudices still clinging 
to it might lead them to regard our visit with in- 
difference at least, if not with jealousy. We dared 
not hope for aid from men who, not three years 
before, were slaveholders, and who, as a body, 
strenuously resisted the abolition measure, finally 
yielding to it only because they found resistance 
vain. 

Mingled with the depressing anxieties already 
refeiTed to, were emotions of pleasure and exulta- 
tion, when we stepped upon the shores of an un- 
fettered isle. We trod a soil from which the last 
vestige of slavery had been swept away! Tons, 
accustomed as %ve were to infer the existence of 
slavery from the presence of a particular hue, the 
numbers of negroes passing to and fro, engaged 
in their several employments, denoted a land of 
oppression ; but the erect forms, the active move- 
ments, and the sprightly countenances, bespoke 
that spirit of disinthrallment which had gone 
abroad thi-ough Antigua. 

On the day of our arrival we had an intei'view 
with the Rev. James Cox, the superintendent of 
the Wesleyan mission in the island. He assured 
us that we need apprehend no difficulty in pro- 
curing information, adding, " We are all free here 
now; every man can speak his sentiments un- 
awed. We have nothing to conceal in our pre- 
sent system ; had you come here as the advocates 
of slavery you might have met with a very differ- 
ent reception." 

At the same time we met the Rev. N. Gilbert, a 
clergyman of the English Church, and proprietor 
of an estate. Mr. G. expressed the hope that we 
might gather such facts during our stay in the 



island, as would tend effectually to remove tht, 
curse of slavery from the United States. He said 
that the failure of the crops, from the extraordinary 
drought which was still prevailmg, would, he 
feared, be charged by persons abroad to the new 
system. "The enemies of freedom," said he, 
" will not ascribe the failure to the proper cause. 
It will be in vain that we solemnly declare, that 
for more than thirty years the island has not ex- 
perienced such a drought. Our enemies will per- 
sist in laying all to the charge of our free system ; 
men will look only at the amount of sugar export- 
ed-, which will be less than half the average. 
They will run away with this fact, and triumph 
over it as the disastrous consequence of abolition." 

On the same day we were introduced to the 
Rev. Bennet Harvey, the principal of the Moravi- 
an mission, to a merchant, an agent for several 
estates, and to an intelligent manager. Each of 
these gentlemen gave us the most cordial welcome, 
and expressed a warm sympathy in the objects of 
our visit. On the following day we dined, by in- 
vitation, with the superintendent of the Wesleyan 
mission, in company with several missionaries. 
Freedom in Anligva was the engrossing and de- 
lightful topic. They rejoiced in the change, not 
merely from sympathy with the disinthralled ne- 
groes, but because it had emancipated them from 
a disheartening surveillance, and opened new fields 
of usefulness. They hailed the star of freedom 
" with exceeding great joy," because it heralded 
the speedy dawning of the Sun of Righteousness. 

We took an early opportunity to call on the 
Governor, whom we found affable and courteous. 
On learning that we were from the United States, 
he remarked, that he entertained a high respect for 
our country, but its slaver}' was a stain upon I'le 
whole nation. He expressed his conviction that 
the instigators of northern mobs must be impli- 
cated in some way, pecuniaiy or otherwise, with 
slavery. The Governor stated various particulars 
'in which Antigua had been greatly improved b}' 
the abolition of slavery. He said, the planters all 
conceded that emancipation had been a great bless- 
ing to the island, and he did not know of a single 
individual who wished to return to the old system. 

His excellency proffered us every assistance in 
his power, and requested his secretary — a colored 
genlleman — to furnish us with certain documents 
which he thought would be of service to us. When 
we rose to leave, the Governor followed us to the 
door, repeating the advice that we should " see 
with our own eyes, and hear with our own ears." 
The interest which his Excellency manifested in 
our enterprise, satisfied us that the prevalent feel- 
ing in the island was opposed to slavery, since it 
was a matter well understood that the Governor's 
partialities, if he had any, were on the side of the 
planters rather than the people. 

On the same day we were introduced to a bar- 
rister, a member of the assembly and' proprietor of 
an estate. He was in the assembly at the time the 
abolhion act was under discussion. He said that 
it was violently opposed, until it wns seen to be 
inevitable. Many w< re the predictions made re- 
specting the ruin which would be brought upon 
the colony ; but these predictions hc/1 failed, and 



ANTIGUA. 



abolition was now regarded as the salvation of 
the island. 

SABBATH. 

The morning of our first Sabbath in Antigua 
came with that hushed stillness which marks the 
Sabbath dawn in the retired villages of New 
England. Tlie arrangements of the family were 
conducted with a studied silence thajt indicated 
habitual respect for the Lord's day. At 10 o'clock 
the streets were filled with the church-going 
throng. The rich rolled along in their splendid 
vehicles with liveried outriders and postillions. 
The poor moved in lowlier procession, yet in neat 
attire, and with the serious air of Christian wor- 
shippers. We attended the Moravian service. 
In going to the chapel, which is situated on the 
border of the town, we passed through and across 
the most frequented streets. No persons were to 
be seen, excepting those whose course was toward 
some place of worship. The shops were all shut, 
and the voices of business and amusement were 
hushed. The market place, which yesterday was 
full of swarming life, and sent forth a confused 
uproar, was deserted and dumb — not a straggler 
was to be seen of all the multitude. 

On approaching the Moravian chapel we ob- 
served the negroes, wending their way church- 
ward, from the surrounding estates, along the 
roads leading into town. 

When we entered the chapel the service had 
begun, and the people were standing, and repeat- 
ing their liturgy. The house, which was capa- 
ble of holding about a thousand persons, was 
filled. The audience were all black and colored, 
mostly of the deepest Ethiopian hue, and had 
come up thither from the estates, where once they 
toiled as slaves, but now as freemen, to present 
their thank-offerings unto Him whose truth and 
Spirit had made them free. In the simplicity and 
tidiness of their attire, in its uniformity and free- 
dom from ornament, it resembled the dress of the 
Friends. The females were clad in plain white 
gowns, with neat turbans of cambric or muslin 
on their heads. The males were dressed in spen- 
cers, vests, and pantaloons, all of white. All 
were serious in their demeanor, and although the 
services continued more than two hours, they gave 
a wakeful attention to the end. Their responses 
in the litany were solemn and regular-. 

Great respect was paid to the aged and infirm. 
A poor blind man came groping his way, and 
was kindly conducted to a seat in an airy place. 
A lame man came wearily up to the door, when 
one within the house rose and led him to the seat 
he himself had just occupied. As we sat facing 
the congregation, we looked around upon the 
multitude to find the marks of those demoniac pas- 
sions which are to strew carnage through our 
own country when its bondmen shall be made 
free. The countenances gathered there, bore the 
traces of benevolence, of humility, of meekness, of 
docility, and reverence ; and we felt, while look- 
ing on them, that the doers of justice to a wronged 
people " shall surely dwell in safety and be quiet 
from fear of evil." 

After the service, we visited the Sabbath school. 
The superintendent was an interesting young 
colored man. We attended tl>e recitation of a 
Testament class of children of both sexes from 
eight to twelve. They read, and answered nu- 
merous questions with great sprightlin?ss. 

In the afternoon we attended the Episcopal 
church, of which the Rev. Robert Holberton is 



913 r 



rector. We here saw a specimen of the aristoc- 
racy of the island. A considerable number present 
were whites,— rich proprietors with their families, 
managers of estates, officers of government, and 
merchants. The greater proportion of the audit- 
ory, however, were colored people and blacks. It 
might be expected that distinctions of color would 
be found here, if any where ;— however, the actual 
distinction, even in this the most fashionable 
church in Antigua, amounted only to this, that 
the body pews on each side of the broad aisle 
were occupied by the whites, the side pews by the I 
colored people, and the broad aisle in the middle \ 
by the negroes. The gallery, on one side, was 
also appropriated to the colored people, and on the 
other to the blacks. The finery of the negroes was 
in sad contrast with the simplicity we had just 
seen at the Moravian chapel. Their dresses were 
of every color and style ; their hats were of all 
shapes and sizes, and fillagreed with the most 
tawdry superfluity of ribbons. Beneath these 
gaudy bonnets were glossy ringlets, false and 
real, clustering in tropical luxuriance. This fan- 
tastic display v/as evidently a rude attempt to fol- 
low the example set them by the white aristocracy. 

The choir was composed chiefly of colored boys, 
who were placed on the right side of the organ, 
and about an equal number of colored girls on the 
left. In front of the organ were eight or ten white 
children. The music of this colored, or rather 
" amalgamated" choir, directed by a colored chor- 
ister, and accompanied by a colored organist, was 
in good taste. 

In the evening, we accompanied a friend to thn 
Wesleyan chapel, of which the Rev. James Cox 
is pastor. The minister invited us to a seat within 
the altar, where we could have a full view of the 
congregation. The chapel was crowded. Nearly 
twelve hundred persons were present. All sat 
promiscuously in respect of color. In one pew 
was a family of whites, next a family of colored 
persons, and behind that perhaps might be seen, 
side by side, the ebon hue of the negro, the mixed 
tint of the mulatto, and the unblended whiteness 
of the European. Thus they sat in crowded con- 
tact, seemingly unconscious that they were out- 
raging good taste, violating natural laws, and 
" confounding distinctions of divine appoint- 
ment!" In whatever direction we turned, there 
was the same commixture of colors. What to one 
of our own countrymen whose contempt for the 
oppressed has defended itself with the plea of 
prejudice against color, would have been a com- 
bination absolutely shocking, was to us a scene as 
gratifying as it was new. 

On both sides, the gallery presented the same 
unconscious blending of colors. The choir was 
composed of a large number, mostly colored, of. 
all ages. The front seats were filled by children 
of various ages — the rear, of adults, rising above 
these tiny choristers, and softening the shrillness 
of their notes by the deeper tones of mature age. 

The style of the preaching which we heard on 
the different occasions above described, so far as 
it is any index to the intelligence of the several 
congregations, is certainly a high commendation. 
The language used, would not offend the taste of 
any congregation, however refined. 

On the other hand, the fixed attention of the 
people showed that the truths delivered were un 
derstood and appreciated. 

We observed, that in the last two services the 
subject of the present drought was particulaily 
noticed in prayer. li^BALU- 



ANTIGUA. 



9 



The account here given is but a fair specimen 
of the solemnity and decorum of an Antigua sab- 
bath. 

VISIT TO Millar's estate. 

Early in the week after our arrival, by the spe- 
cial invitation of the manager, we visited this es- 
tate. It is situated aboht four miles from the town 
f St. John's. 

The smooih MacAdamized road extending 
cross the rolling plains and gently sloping hill 
sides, coven d with waving cane, and interspersed 
with provision grounds, contributed with the fresh 
bracing a r of the morning to make tlie drive plea- 
sant and nnimati ng. 

At short intervals were seen the buildings of the 
different estates thrown together in small groups, 
consisting of tlie manager's mansion and out-hou- 
ses, negro huis, boiling house, cooling houses, 
distillery, and windmill. The mansion is gene- 
rally on an elevated spot, commanding a view of 
the estate and surrounding country. The cane 
fields presented a novel appearance — being with- 
out fences of any description. Even those fields 
which lie bordering on tlie highways, are wholly 
unprotected by hedge, ditch, or rails. This is 
from necessity. Wooden fences they cannot have, 
for lack of timber. Hedges are not used, because 
they are found to withdraw the moisture from the 
3anes. To prevent depredations, there are watch- 
iieji on every estate employed both day and night. 
There are also stock keepers employed by day in 
cceping the cattle within proper grazing limits. 
4s each estate guards its own stock by day and 
bids them by nignt, the fields are in little danger. 
We passed great numbers of negroes on the 
oad, loaded with every kind of commodity for 
he town market. The head is the beast of burthen 
mong the negroes throughout the West Indies. 
♦Vhaiever the load, whether it be trifling or valu- 
able, strong or frail, it is consigned to the head, 
both for safe keeping and for transportation. 
While the head is thus taxed, the hands hang use- 
3ss by the side, or are busied in gesticulating, as 
!ie people chat together along the way. The ne- 
;roes we joassed were all decently clad. They 
niformly stopped as they came opposite to us, to 
ay the usual civilities. This the men did by 
)uching their hats and bowing, and the women, 
y making a low courtesy, and adding, sometimes, 
howdy, massa," or " mornin', massa." We 
issed several loaded wagons, drawn by three, 
ur, or five yoke of oxen, and in every instance 
e driver, so far from manifesting any disposition 
insnlently" to crowd us otf the road, or to con- 
nd for his part of it, turned his team aside, leav- 
g us double room to go by, and sometimes stop- 
nsr until we had passed. 

We were kindly received at Millar's by Mr. 
ourne, the manager. Millar's is one of the first 
tates in Antigua. The last year h made the 
rgest sugar crop on the island. Mr. B. took us 
jfore breakfast to view the estate. On the way, 
2 remarked that we had visited the island at a 
ery unfavorable time for seeing the cultivation of 
t, as every thing was suffering greatly from the 
'rought. There had not been a single copious 
iin, such as would "make the water run," since 
.he first of March previous. As we approached 
the laborers, the manager pointed out one compa- 
ny of ten. who were at work with their hoes by 
the side of the road, while a larger one of thirty 
vere in the middle of the field. They greeted us 
n the most friendly manner. The manager spoke 
findly to them, encouraging them to be industrious 



He stopped a moment to explain to us the process 
of cane-lioling. The field is first ploughed* in 
one direction, and the ground thrown up in ridges 
of about a foot high. Then similar ridges are 
formed crosswise, with the hoe, making regular 
squares of two-feet-sides over the field. By rais- 
ing the soil, a clear space of six inches square is 
left at the bottom. In tliis space the 'plo.nt is placeu 
hori7.ontally, and slightly covered with earth. 
The ridges are left about it, for the purpose of con- 
ducting the rain to the roots, and also to retain the 
moisture. When we came up to the large com- 
pany, they paused a moment, and with a hearty 
salutation, wliicli ran all along the line, bade us 
■'•good mornin'," and immediately resumed their 
labor. The men and women were intermingled; 
the latter kept pace with the former, wielding their 
hoes with energy and effect. The manager ad- 
dressed them for a few moments, telling them who 
we were, and the object of our visit. He told 
them of the great number of slaves in America, 
and appealed to them to know whether they would 
not be sober, industrious, and diligent, so as to 
prove to American slaveholders the benefit of free- 
ing all their slaves. At the close of each sen- 
tence, they all responded, "Yes, massa," or "God 
bless de massas," and at the conclusion, they an- 
swered the appeal, with much feeling, "Yes, mas- 
sa ; please God massa, we will all do so." When 
we turned to leave, tliey wished to know what we 
thought of their industry. We assured them that 
we were much pleased, for which they returned 
their " thankee, massa." They were working at 
A job. The manager had given them a piece of 
ground " to hole," engaging to pay them sixteen 
dollars when they had finished it. He remarked 
that he had found it a good plan to give jobs. He 
obtained more work in this way than he did by 
giving the ordinary wages, which is about eleven 
cents per day. It looked very much like slavery 
to see the females working in the field; but the 
manager said they chose it generally "/or the sake 
of the wages.'' Mr. B. returned with us to the 
house, leaving the gangs in tile field, with only an 
aged negro in charge of the work, as swpei-intend- 
ent. Such now is the name of the overseer. The 
very terms, driver and overseer, are banishea 
from Antigua; and the vjhvp is buried beneath 
the soil of freedom. 

When we readied the house we were introdu- 
ced to Mr. Watkins, a colored p\&n\,er, whom Mr. 
B. had invited to breakfast with us Mr. Watkins 
was very communicative, and from him and Mr. 
B., who was equally free, we obtained informa- 
tion on a great variety of points, which we re- 
serve for the different heads to which they appro- 
priately belong. 

pitch's creek estate. 

From Millar's we proceeded to Pitch's Creek 
Estate, where we had been invited to dine by the 
intelligent manager, Mr. H. Armstrong. We 
there met several Wesleyan missionaries. Mr. 
A. is himself a local preacher in the Wesleyan 
connection. When a stranffer visits an estate in 
the West Indies, almost the "first thing is an offer 
from the manager to accompany him through the 
sugar works. Mr. A. conducted U8 first to a new 
boiling house, which he was building after n plan 
of his own devising. The bousft is of brick, on 
a very extensive scale. It has been built entirely 

' In those cases whert 'he plough is used at all. It is 
not yet generally introduced througliotit the West Indies. 
Where the plough is not used, the whole process 9f 
holing is done with the hoe, and is extremelv laborious. 



10 



ANTIGUA. 



by negroes — chiefly those belonging to the estate 
who were emancipated in 1834. Pitch's Creek 
Estate is one ot' the largest. on the Island, consist- 
ing of .'iOO acres, ot' which oOO are under cultiva- 
tion. Tile number of people employed and living 
on tlie property is 2G0. This estate indicates any 
thing else than an apprehension of approaching 
ruin. It presents the appearance, tar more, of a 
resu^-rcciion from the grave. In addition to his 
improved sugar and boiling establishment, he has 
projected a plan for a new village, (as the collec- 
tion of negro houses is called,) and has already 
selecied the ground and begtm to build. The 
houses are to be larger than those at present in 
use, they are to be built of stone instead of mud 
and sticks, and to be neatly roofed. Instead of being 
huddled together in a bye place, as has mostly 
been the case, they are to be built on an elevated site, 
and ranged at regular intervals around three sides 
of a large square, in the centre of which a build- 
ing for a chapel and school house is to be erected. 
Each house is to have a garden. This and simi- 
lar improvements are now in progress, with the 
view of adding to the comforts of the laborers, and 
attaching them to the estate. It lias become the 
interest of the planter to make it for the interest of 
the people to remain on his estate. 'YVx'S, maUual 
interest is the only sure basis of prosperity on the 
pne hand and of industry on the other. 
•'.,!,'The whole company heartily joined in assuring 
tJs that a knowledge of the actual working of abo- 
lition in Antigua, would be altogether favorable 
to the cause of freedom, and that the more thorough 
our knowledge of the facts in the case, the more per- 
fect would be our confidence in the safety of imme- 
diate emancipation. 

Mr. A. said that the spirit of enterprise, before 
dormant, had been roused since emancipation, 
and planters were now beginning to inquire as to 
the best modes of cultivation, and to propose mea- 
sures of general improvement. One of these mea- 
sures was the establishing of free villages, in 
which the laborers might dwell by paying a small 
rent. When the adjacent planters needed help 
they could here find a supply for the occasion. 
This plan would relieve the laborers from some of 
that dependence which they must feel so long as 
they live on the estate and in the houses of the 
planters. Many advantages of such a system 
were specified. We allude to it here only as an 
illustration of that spirit of inquiry, which free- 
dom has kindled in the minds of the planters. 

No little desire was manifested by the company 
to know the state of the slavery question in this 
country. They all, planters and missionaries, 
spoke in terms of abhorrence of our slavery, our 
iuoby, eur prejudice, and our Christianity. One 
of tLe missionaries said it would never do for him 
to go to America, for lie should certainly be ex- 
communicated by his Methodist brethren, and 
Lynched by the advocates of slavery. He insisted 
that slaveholding professors and ministers should 
be cut off from the communion of the Church. 

As we were about to take leave, the proprietor of 
the estate rode up, accompanied by the governor, 
whom he had brought to see the new boiling- 
house, and the other improvements which were in 
progress. The proprietor resides in St. John's, is 
a gentleman of larg'e fortune, and a member of the 
assembly. He said he would be happy to aid us 
ia any way — but added, that in all details of a 
practical kind, and in all matters of fact, the 
planters were the best witnesses, for they were 
the cpjaductors of ths present system. We were 



glad to obtain the endorsement of an j-jfiuentj.il 

proprietor to the testimony of practical planters. 

DI.VNER AT THE GOVERNOR'S. 

On the following day having received a very 
courteous invitation* from the governor, to dine at 
the government house, we made our arrangements 
to do so. The Hon. Paul Horsford, a member of 
the council, called during the day, to say, that hf 
expected to dine with us at the government house 
and that he would be happy to call for us at thf 
appointed hour, and conduct us thither. At six 
o'clock Mr. H.'s carriage drove up to our door^ 
and we accompanied him to the governors, \vher6 
we were introduced to Col. Jarvis, a member of 
the privy council, and proprietor of several estates 
in the island. Col. Edwards, a member of the as- 
sembly and a barrister. Dr. Musgrave, a member 
of the assembly, and Mr. Shiel, attorney general. 
A dinner of state, at a Governor's house, attended 
by a company of high-toned politicians, profes- 
sional gentlemen, and proprietors, could hardly 
be expected to furnish large accessions to our 
stock of information, relating to the object of our 
visit. Dinner being announced, we were hardly 
se'ated at the table when his excellency politely of- 
fered to drink a glass of Madeira with us. We 
begged leave to decline the honor. In a short 
time he proposed a glass of Champaign — again 
we declined. " Why, surely, gentlemen," ex- 
claimed the Governor, " you must belong to the 
temperance society." " Yes, sir, we do." " Is it 
possible 1 but you will surely take a glass of li- 
queur?" "Your excellency must pardon us if 
we again decline the honor; we drink no wines." 
This announcement of ultra temperance principles 
excited no little surprise. Finding that our alle- 
giance to cold water was not to be shaken, the 
governor condescended at last to meet us on mid- 
dle ijround, and drink his wine to our water. 

The conversation on the subject of emancipation 
served to show that the prevailing sentiment v/as 
decidedly favorable to the free system. Col. Jarvis, 
who is the proprietor of three estates, said that he 
was in England at the time the bill for immediate 
emancipation passed the legislature. Had he been 
in the island he should have opposed it ; hxxincv} he 
was glad it had prevailed. The evil consequences 
which he apprehended had not been realiz-d, and 
he was now confident that they never would be. 

As to prejudice against the black and colored 
people, all thought it was rapidly decreasing — in- 
deed, they could scarcely say there was now any 
such thing. To be sure, there was an aversion 
among the higher classes of the whites, and espe- 
cially among females, to associating in parties with 
colored people; but it was not on account of their 
color, but chiefly because of their illegitimacy. 
This was to us a new source of prejudice : but 
subsequent information fully explained its bear- 
ings. The whites of the West Indies are them- 
selves t!ie authors of that illegitimacy, out of 
which their aversion springs. It is not to be 
wondered at that ihey should be unwilling to in- 
vite the colored people to their social parties, see- 
in? they might not unfrequently be subjected to 

" We venture to publish the note In which the governor 
conveyed his invitation, simply because, though a trifle 
in itself, it will serve to show the estimation in which our 
mission was held. 

"If Messrs. Kimball and Thome are not engaged Tues- 
day ne.vt, the Lieut. Governor will be happy to see them 
at dinner, at sl.v o'clock, when he will endeavor to facili- 
tate their philanthropic inquiries, by inviting two or thre« 
proprietors to meet them. 

" Government House, St. John's, Dec. mh, 1836." 



ANTIGUA. 



U 



Vlj* embarrassment of introducing to their white 

wives A colored mistress or an illegitimate dsiMgh- 
ter. This also explains the special prejudice 
v/liich the ladies of the higher classes feel toward 
tho^e among whom are their guilty rivals in a hus- 
banc(|s aft'cctions, and those whose every feature 
tells the story of a husband's unfaithfulness! 

A fiw days after our dinner with the governor 
and lii? friends, we took breakfast, by invitation, 
', witlif^r. Watkins, the colored planter whom we 
, had the pleasure of meeting at Millar's, on a pre- 
' vious occasion. Mr. W. politely sent in his 
chaise for us, a distance of five miles, At an 
early hour we reached Donovan's, the estate of 
which he is manager. We found the sugar 
works in active operation : the broad wings of 
the windiiiill were wheeling their stately revolu- 
tions, and the smoke was issuing in dense volumes 
from the chimney of the boiling house. Some of 
•he negroes were employed in carrying cane to 
the mill, others in carrying away the Irasli or me- 
gass, as the cane is called after the juice is ex- 
pressed from it. Others, chiefly the old men and 
women, were tearing the megass apart, and strew- 
ing it on the ground to dry. It is the only fuel 
used for boiling the sugar. 

On entering the house we found three planters 
whom Mr. W. had invited to breakfast with us. 
The meeting of a number of intelligent practical 
planters aftbrded a good opportunity for com- 
paring their views. On all the main points, 
touching the working of freedom, there was a 
strong coincidence. 

When breakfast was ready, Mrs. W. entered 
the room, and after our introduction to her, took 
her place at the head of the table. Her conversa- 
tion was intelligent, her manners highly polished, 
and she presided at the table with admirable 
grace and dignity. 

On. the following day, Dr. Ferguson, of St. 
John's, called on us. Dr. Fei-guson is a member 
of the assembly, and one of the first physicians in 
the island. The Doctor said that freedom had 
wrought like a magician, and had it not been for 
the unprecedented drought, the island would now 
be in a state of prosperity unequalled in any pe- 
riod of its history. Dr. F. i-emarked that a gene- 
ral spirit of improvement was pervading the isl- 
and. The moral condition of the whites was 
rapidly brightening; formerly concubinage was 
respectable ; it had been customary for married 
men — those of the highest standing— to keep one 
or two colored misiresses. This practice was 
now becoming disreputable. There had been a 
great alteration as to the observance of the Sab- 
bath ; formerly more business was done in St. 
John's on Sunday, by the merchants, than on all 
the other days of the week together. The mer- 
cantile business of the town had increased as- 
tonishingly ; he thought that the stores and shops 
had multiplied in a ratio of ten to one. Mecha- 
nical pursuits were likewise in a flourishing con- 
dition. Dr. F. said that a £:reater number of 
buildings had been erected since emancipation, 
than had been put up for twenty years before. 
Great improvements had also been made in the 
streets and roads in town and country. 

MARKET. 

SATtTRDAY. — This is the regular market-day 
here. The nngroes come from all parts of the 
island ; walking sometimes ten or fifteen miles to 
attend the St. .John's market. We pressed our 
way through the dense mass of all hues, which 



crowded the market. The ground wa« covered 
with wooden trays filled with all kinds of fruits, 
grain, vegetables, fowls, fish, and flesh. Eajh 
one, as we pa.ssed, called .ittention to his or her 
little stock. We passed up to the head of the 
avenue, where m^n and women were employed in 
cutting tip the light fire-wood which they had 
brought from the country on their heads, and in 
binding it into small bundles for sale. Here we 
paused a moment and looked down upon the busy 
multitude below. The whole street was a moving 
mass. There were broad Panama hats, and 
gaudy turbans, and uncovered heads, and heads 
laden with water pots, and boxes, and baskets, 
and trays — alljnovingand mingling in seemingly 
inextricable confusion. There could not have 
been less than fifteen hundred people congregated 
in that street — all, or nearly all, emancipated 
slaves. Yet, amidst all the excitements and com- 
petitions of trade, their conduct toward each other 
was polite and kind. Not a word, or look, or ges- 
ture of insolence or indecency did we observe. 
Smiling countenances and friendly voices greeted 
us on every side, and we felt no fears either of 
having our pockets picked or our throats cut ! 

At the other end of the market-place siobd the 
Lock-up House, the Cage, and the Whippiiig Pqil^ 
with stocks for feet and wrists. These are dl'- 
most the sole relics of slavery which still linger 
in the town. The Lock-up House is a sort of 
jail, built of stone — about fifteen feet square, and 
originally designed as a place of confinement for 
slaves taken up by the patrol. The Cage is a 
smaller building, adjoining the former, the sides of 
which are composed of strong iron bars — fitly 
c&WeA B. cage '. The prisoner was exposed to the 
gaze and insult of every passer by, without the 
possibility of concealment. The Whipping Post 
is hard by, but its occupation is gone. Indeed, 
all these appendages of slavery have gone into en- 
tire disuse, and Time is doing his work of dilapi- 
dation upon them. We fancied we could see in 
the marketers, as they walked in and out at the 
doorless entrance of the Lock-up House, or leaned 
against the Whipping Post, in careless chat, that 
harmless defiance which would prompt one to 
beard the dead lion. 

Returning from the market we observed a negro 
woman passing through the street, with several 
large hat boxes strung on her arm. She acci- 
dentally let one of them fall. The box had hard- 
ly reached the ground, when a little boy sprang 
from the back of a carriage rolling by, handed the 
woman the box, and hastened to remount the 
carriage. 

CHRISTMAS, jjbijim.-. 
During the reign of slavery,' the Christmas 
holidays brought with them general alarm. To 
prevent insurrections, the militia was uniformly 
called out, and an array made of all that was 
formidable in military enginery. This custom 
was dispensed with at once, after emancipation. 
As Christmas came op the Sabbath, it tested the 
respect for that day. The morning was similar, 
in all respects, to the morning of the Sabbath 
described above ; the same serenity reigning every- 
where — the same quiet in the household move- 
ments, and the sametranquilliiyprevailingthrough 
the streets. We attended morning service at t?ie 
Moravian chapel. Notwithstandivig the descri|v 
tions we had heard of the great change which 
eniancipation had wrought in the observance of 
Christmas, we were quite unprepared for vbe 



i: 



12 



ANTIGU; 



delightful reality around us. Though thirty 
thousa)id slaves had but lately Isf^en " turnf^d 
loose'' upon a wluie populutiou ol' less than ihree 
ihoustind ! instead of meeting with scenes of 
disorder, what were the sights which greeted our 
eyes'? The neat attire, the serious demeanor, 
and the thronged procession to the place of wor- 
ship. In every direction the roads leading into 
town were lined with happy beings— attired for 
the house of God. When groups coming from 
d liferent quarters met at the corners, they stopped 
a moment to exchange salutations and shake 
hands, and then proceeded on together. 

The Moravian chapel was slightly decorated 
with green branches. They were the only adorn- 
ing which marked the plain sanctuary of a plain 
people. It was crowded with black and colored 
people, and very many stood without, who could 
not get in. After the close of the service in the 
chapel, the minister proceeded to the adjacent 
school room, and preached to another crowded 
audience. In the evening the Wesleyan chapel 
was crowded to overflowing. The aisles and 
communion place were full. On all festivals and 
holidays, which occur on the Sabbath, the church- 
es aad chapels are more thronged than on any 
, other Lord's day. 
• It is hardly necessary to state that there was no 
instance of a dance or drunken riot, nor wild 
shouts of mirth during the day. The Christmas, 
instead of breaking in upon the repose of the 
Sabbath, seemed -QJtJy^io enhance the usual solem- 
nity of the day.tn r-i- . 

The holidays continued until the next 'Wednes- 
day morning, and the same order prevailed to the 
close of them. On Monday there were religious 
services in most of the churches and chapels, 
where sabbath-school addresses, discourses on 
the relative duties of husband and wife, and on 
kindred subjects, were delivered. 

An intelligent gentleman informed us that the 
negroes, while slaves, used to spend during the 
Christmas holidays, the extra money which they 
got during the year. Now they save it — to buy 
small tracts of land for their own cultivation. 

The Governor informed us that the police re- 
turns did not report a single case of arrest during 
the holidays. He said he had been well acquainted 
with the country districts of England, he had also 
travelled extensively in Europe, yet he had never 
found such a peaceable, orderly, and laiu-abiding 
people as those of Antigua. 

An acquaintance of nine weeks with the 
colored population of St. John's, meeting them by 
the wayside, in their shops, in their parlors, and 
elsewhere, enables us to pronounce them a people 
of general intelligence, refinement of manners, 
personal accomplishments, and true politeness. 
As to their style of dress and mode of living, were 
we disposed to make any criticism, we should say 
that they were extravagant. In refined and ele- 
vated conversation, they would certainly bear a 
comparison with the whita families of the island. 

VISIT TO THIBOU JARVIs's ESTATE. 

After the Chrititmas holidays were over, we 
resumed our visits to the country. Being provided 
with a letter to the manager of Thibou Jarvis's 
estate, Mr. James Howell, we embraced the earliest 
opportunity to call on him. Mr. H. has been in 
Antigua for thirty-six years, and has been a 
prtictical planter during the whole of that time. 
He has the management of two estates, on which 
there are more than five hundred people. The 



prineipat itetfls oV'fevfeS^;^!]*^ testimony will 
be found in another place. In this connection we 
shall lecord ohly.miscellaneous, statements of a 
local nature. ,, . , 

1. The severity of the drought. He had beer 
in Antigua since the year 1800, and he had never, 
known so long a continuance of dry weather, 
although the island is subject to severe droughts 
He stated that a field of yams, which in ordinary 
seasons yielded ten cart-loads to the acre, would 
not produce this year more than three. The 
failure in the crops was not in the least degree 
chargeable upon the laborers, for in the first ptace, 
the cane plants for the present crop were put in 
earlier and in greater quanthies than usual, and 
U7ilil the drought commenced, the fields promised 
a large return. 

2. The religious condition of the negroes, 
during slavery, was extremely low. It seemed 
almost impossible to teach them any higher reli- 
gio7i than obedience to their masters. Their highes; 
notion of God was that he was a little above theii 
owner. He mentioned, by way of illustration, 
that the slaves of a certain large proprietor used 
to have this saying, " Massa only want he little 
finger to touch God I" that is, their master icas 
lower than God only by the length of his little 
fimger. But now the religious and moral condi- 
tion of the people was fast improving. 

3. A great change in the use of rum, had been 
effected on the estates under his management since 
emancipation. He formerly, in accordance with 
the prevalent custom, gave his people a weekly 
allowance of rum, and this was regarded as es- 
sential to their health and effectiveness. But he 
has lately discontinued this altogether, and his 
people had hot suffered any inconvenience from it. 
He gave them in lieu of the rum, an allowance of 
molasses, with which they appeared to be entirely 
satisfied. When Mr. H. informed the people of 
his intention to discontinue the spirits, he told 
them that he should set them the example of total 
abstinence, by abandoning wine and malt liquor 
also, which he accordingly did. 

4. There had been much less pretended sick- 
ness among the negroes since freedom. They had 
now a strong aversion to going to the sick house,* 
so much so that on many estates it had been put 
to some other use. 

We were taken through the negro village, and 
shown the interior of several houses. One of the 
finest looking huts was decorated with pictures, 
printed cards, and booksellers' Hdvertisem^nts in 
large letters. Amongst many ornaments of this 
kind, was an advertisement not unfamiliar to 
our eyes — " The Girl's Own Book. Bv Mrs. 
Child." 

We generally found the women at home. Some 
of them had been informed of our intention to 
visit them, and took pains to have every thing in 
the best order for our reception. The negro vil- 
lage on this estate contains one hundred houses, 
each of which is occupied by a separate family. 
Mr. H. next conducted us to a neighboring field, 
where the great gangi were at work. There 
were about fifty persons in the gang — the majori- 
ty females — under two inspectors or superinten 

* The estate hospital, in which, during slavery, all sick 
persons were placed for medical attendance and nur.siiig. 
There was one on every estate. 

r Tlie people on most estates are divided into three 
gangs : first, the great gang, composed of the principal 
effective men and women ; second, the weeding gang, 
consisting of younger and weekly porson.s; and thij^i, 
the grass gang, which embraces all the cliUUrcn aU 
work. 



ANTIGUA. 



13 



•*ents, men who talce the place of the quondam 
drivers, though tlieir province is totally different. 
' They merely direct the laborers in their work, 
employing with the loiterers the stimulus of per- 
suasion, or at farthest,, no more than the violence 
of the tongue. 

Mr. H. requested them to stop their work, and 
told them who we were, and as we bowed, the 
men took off their hats and the women made a 
low courtesy. Mr. Howell then informed them 
that we had come from America, where there were 
a great many slaves: that we had visited Antigua 
to see how freedom was working, and whether the 
people who were made free on the first of August 
were doing well — -and added, that he " lioped these 
gentlemen might be able to carry back such a re- 
port as would induce the masters in America to 
set their slaves free." They unanimously replied, 
"Yes, massa, we hope dem will gib um free." 
We spoke a few words : told them of the condition 
of the slaves in America, urged them to pray for 
them that they might be patient under their suffer- 
ings, and that they might soon be made free. 
They repeatedly promised to pray for the poor 
slaves in America. We then received their hear- 
ty '■ Good bye, massa," and returned to the house, 
while they resumed their work. 

We took leave of Mr. Howell, grateful for his 
kind offices in furtherance of the objects of our 
mission. 

We had not been long in Antigua before we per- 
teived the distress of the poor from the scarcity of 
water. As there are but few springs in the island, 
the sole reliance is upon rain water. Wealthy 
families have cisterns or tanks in their yards, to 
receive the rain from the roofs. There are also a 
few public cisterns in St. John's. These ordina- 
rily supply the whole population. During the 
present season many of these cisterns have been 
dry, and the supply of water has been entirely inad- 
equate to the wants of the people. There are seve- 
ral large open ponds in the vicinity of St. John's, 
which are commonly used to water " slock. " 
There are one or more on every estate, for the same 
purpose. The poor people were obliged to use the 
water from these ponds both fordrinking and cook- 
ing while we were in Antigua. In taking our 
morning walks, we uniformly met the negroes ei- 
ther going to, or returning from the ponds, with 
their large pails balanced on their heads, happy ap- 
parently in being able to get even such foul water. 

Attended the anniversary of the " Friendly So- 
ftpiely, " coimected with the church in St. John's. 
jiMany of the most respectable citizens, including 
o|.he Governor, were present. After the services in 
the church, the society moved in procession to the 
Rectory school-room. We counted one hundred 
males and two hundred and sixty females in the 
procession. Having been kindly invited by the 
Rector to attend at the school-room, we followed 
the procession. We found the house crowded 
with women, many others, besides those in the 
procession, having convened. The men were 
seated without under a canvass, extended along 
one side of the house. The whole number present 
was supposed to be nine hundred. Short address- 
es were made by the Rector, the Archdeacon, and 
the Governor. 

The Seventh Annual Report of the Society, 
drawn up by the secretary, a colored man, was 
read. It was creditable to the author. The Rec- 
tor in h's address afreclio:'\aIly w.'.nied the society^ 
espL-cialiy the female members, against extrava- 
gance in dress. 



The Archdeacon exhorted them to domestic and 
conjugal faithfulness. He alluded to the preva- 
lence of inconstancy during past years, and to the 
great improvement in this particular lately ; and 
concluded by wishing them all " a happy new-year 
and iiianij of them, and a blessed immortality in 
the end." For this kind wish they returned a 
loud and general "thankee, massa." 

The Governor then said, that he rose merely to 
remark, that this society might aid in the emanci- 
pation of millions of slaves, now in bondage in 
other countries. A people who are capable of 
forming such societies as this among themselves, 
deserve to be free, and ought no longer to be held 
in bondage. You, said he, are showing to the 
world what the negro race are capable of doing. 
The Governor's remarks were received with ap- 
plause. After the addresses the audience were ser- 
ved with refreshments, previousto which the Rec- 
tor read the following lines, which were sung to 
the tune of Old Hundred, the whole congregation 
standing. 

" Lord at our table now appear 

And bless us here, as every where ; 
Let manna to our souls be given, 

The bread otlife sent down from heaven.'/' r , 

The simple refreshment was then handed round. 
It consisted merely of buns and lemonade. ■ The 
Governor and the Rector, each drank to the health 
and happiness of the members. The lood' re- 
sponse came up from all within and all around the 
house — " thankee — thankee — thankee — -massa — 
thankee ^oo</ massa." A scene of animation en- 
sued. 1'he whole concourse of black, colored and 
white, from the humblest to the highest, from the 
unlettered apprentice to the Archdeacon and the 
Governor of the island, joined in a common fes- 
tivity. 

After the repast was concluded, thanks were 
returned in the following verse, also sung to Old 
Hundred. 

"We thank thee, Lord, for this our food, 
But bless thee more for Jesus' blood; 

Let manna to our souls be given, 
The bread of life sent down from heaven." 

The benediction was pronounced, and the au 
sembly retired. 

There was an aged negro man present, who 
was noticed with marked attention by the Arch- 
deacon, the Rector and other clergymen. He is 
sometimes called the African Bishop. He was 
evidently used to familiarity with the clergy, and 
laid his hand on their shoulders as he spoke to 
them. The old patriarch was highly delighted 
with the scene. He said, when he was young he 
" never saw nothing, but sin and Satan. Now I 
just begin to live." i .; .Miv.'Or.u 

On the same occasion the Governor Temarked 
to us that the first thing to be done in our country, 
toward the removal of slavery, was to discard the 
absurd notion that color made any difference, in- 
tellectually or morally, among men. " All dis- 
tinctions," said he, "founded in color, must be a- 
bolished every where. We should learn to talk of 
men not as colored men, but as mkn as fellojo citi- 
zens and fellow subjects.'' His Excellency certainly 
showed on this occasion a disposition to put in 
practice his doctrine. He spoke affectionately to 
the children, and conversed freely with the adults 

VISIT TO GREEN C.iSTLE. 

According to a previous engiagement, a member 

or ihe assembly c;i1!>l1 mni took us iii his cuaiag; 
to Green Castle estate. 

Green Castle lies about three miles south-eant 



u 



ANTIGUA. 



from St. John's, and contains 940 acres. The 
mansion stands on a rocky clifl', overlooking the 
estate, and commanding a wide viewof ihe island. 
In one direction spreads a valley, interspersed 
with fields of sugar-cane and piovisions. In an- 
other stretches a range of hills, with tlieir sides 
clad in culture, and their tops covered with clouds. 
At tiie base of the rock are the sugar houses. On 
a neighboring- upland lies the negro village, in 
the rear of which are the provision grounds. Sam- 
uel Barnard, Esq., the manager, received us kind- 
ly. He said, he had been on the island forty-four 
years, most of the time engaged in the manage- 
ment of estates. He is now the manager of two 
estates, and the attorney for six, and has lately 
purchased an estate himself Mr. B. is now 
an aged man, grown old in the practice of slave 
holding. He has survived the wreck of slavery, 
and now stripped of a tyrant's power, he still lives 
among the people, who were lately his slaves, and 
manages an estate which was once his empire. 
The testimony of such a man is invaluable. Hear 
Rim. [7, ■ '"', ' ■'", '-'*"' ■ '■; 

I. 'W.'Bl^aia, that the negroes throughout the 
island were Very peaceable when they received 
theip freedom. 

?&;■[' I^e said he had found no difficulty in getting 
hiS p^o|)le to work after they had received their 
freedom. Some estates had suffered tor a short time; 
there was a pretty general fluctation for a month or 
two, the people leaving one estate and going to an- 
other. But this, said Mr. B., was chargeable to the 
folly of the planters, who overbid each other in order 
to secure the best hands and enough of them. The 
negroes had a strong attachment to their homes, 
and they would rarely abandon them unless harsh- 
ly treated. 

3. He thought that the assembly acted very 
wisely in rejecting the apprenticeship. He consid- 
ered it absurd. It took the chains partly from off the 
slave, and fastened them on the master, and en- 
slaved them both. It withdrew from the latter the 
power of compelling labor, and it supplied to the 
former no incentive to industry. 

He was opposed to the measures which many 
had adopted for further securing the benefits of 
emancipation. — He referred particularly to the 
system of education which now prevailed. He 
thought that the education of the emancipated ne- 
gr6es should combine industry with study even 
in childhood, so as not to disqualify the taught 
for cultivating the ground. It will be readily 
seen that this prejudice against education, evi- 
dently the remains of his attachment to slavery, 
gives additional weight to his testimony. 

The Mansion on the Rock (which from its ele- 
vated and almost inaccessible position, and from 
the rich shrubbery in perpetual foliage surround- 
'ng It, very fitly takes the name of Green Castle) 
is memorable as the scene of the murder of the pre- 
sent proprietor's grandfather. He refused to give 
his slaves holiday on a particular occasion. They 
came several 'times in a body and asked for the 
holiday, but he obstinately refused to grant it. 
They rushed into his bedroom, fell upon him with 
their hoes, and killed him. 

On our return to St. John's, we received a polite 
note fro^n a colored lady, inviting us to attend the 
anniversary of the "Juvenile Association," at 
eleven o'clock. We found about forty children 
assembled, the greater part of them colored girls, 
but some were while. The ages of these 
juvenile philanthropists varied from four to four- 
wen. After singing and prayer, the object of the 



association was stated, which was to raise money 
by sewing, soliciting contributions, and otherwise, 
for charitable purposes. 

From the annual report it appeared that this 
was the twenty-Jirst anniversari/ of the society. 
The treasurer reported nearly £(J0 currency (or 
about S150) received and disbursed during tlie 
year. More than one hundred dollars had "been ■, 
given towards the erection of the new Wesleyan , 
chapel in St. John's. Several resolutions were 
presented by little misses, expressive of gratitude 
to God for continued blessings, which were adopt- 
ed unanimously — every child holding up its right 
hand in token of assent. 

After the resolutions and other business wer« 
despatched, the children listened to several ad- 
dresses from the gentlemen present. The last 
speaker was a member of the assembly. He said 
that his presence there was quite accidental; but 
that he had been amply repaid for coming by wit- 
nessing the goodly work in which this juvenile 
society was engaged. As thei-e was a male 
branch association about to be organized, lie beg- 
ged the privilege of enrolling his name as an hon- 
orary member, and promised to be a constant 
contributor to its funds. He concluded by saying, 
that though he had not before enjoyed the happi- 
ness of attending their anniversaries, he should 
never again fail to be present (with the permission 
of their worthy patroness) at the future meetings 
of this most interesting society. We give the 
substance of this address, as one of the signs of 
the times. The speaker was a wealthy merchant 
of St. John's. 

This society was organized in 1815. The^^r.";^ 
proposal came-from a few little colored girls, who, 
after hearing a sermon on the blessedness of doing 
good, wanted to know whether they might not 
have a society for raising money to give to the 
poor. 

This Juvenile Association has, since its organ 
ization, raised the sum of fourteen hundred, del- 
lars! Even this little association has experienced 
a great impulse from the free system. From a 
table of the annual receipts since 1815, we found 
that the amount raised the two last years, is 
nearly equal to that received during any three 
years before. ■-' 

DR. DANIELL WEATHERILL EST.iTE. 

On our return from Phibou Jarvis's estate, we 
called at Weatherill's ; but the manajier. Dr. Dan- 
iell, not being at home, we left our names, with dn 
intimation of the object of our visit. Dr. D. cal- 
led soon after at our lodgings. As authority, he 
is unquestionable. Before retiring from the prac- 
tice of medicine, he stood at the head of his profes- 
sion in the island. He is now a member of the 
council, is proprietor of an estate, manager of 
another, and attorney for six. 

The fact that such men as Dr. D., but yesterday 
large slaveholders, and still holding high civil 
and political stations, should most cheerfully fa- 
cilitate our anti-slavery investigations, manifest- 
ing a solicitude to furnish us v.-!th all the inlbrma- 
tion in their power, is of itsdf the highest eulogy 
of the new system. The testimony of Dr. D. 
will be found mainly in a subsequent part of the 
work. We state, in passing, a fe' 'ncidentals. 
He was satisfied that immediate emancipation 
was better policy than a temporary apprenticeship. 
The apprenticeship was a middle slate — kent the 
negroes in suspense — vexed and harrasscd Jicm 
—■fed them cii a starved hope ; and therefore tiiey 



ANTIGUA. 



t& 



would not be so likely, when they ultimately ob- 
.ained freedom, to feel grateful, and conduct them- 
selves properly. The reflection that they had 
been cheated out of their liberty lor six years 
would sour Ikeir minds. The planters in Anti- 
gua, by giving immediate freedom, had secured 
ihe attaciiment of their people. 

The Doctor said he did not expect to nKike 
more than two thirds of his average crop; but 
he assured us that this was owing solely to the 
want of rain. There had been no deficiency of 
labor. The crops were in, in season, throughout 
the island, and the estates were never under bet- 
ter cultivation than at the present time. Nothing 
was wanting but rain — rain. • 

He said that the West India planters were very 
anxious to letain the services of the negro popu- 
lation. 

Dr. D. made some inquiries as to the extent of 
slavery in the United States, and what was doing 
for its abolition. He thought that emancipation 
in our country would not be the result of a slow 
process. The anti-slavery feeling of the civilized 
world had become too strong to wait for a long 
course of "preparations" and "ameliorations." 
And besides, continued he, " tlie arbitrary control 
of a master can tiever be a preparation for free- 
dom ; — sound and wholesome legal restraints are 
Uie onlyp reparative." 

The Doctor also spoke of the absurdity and 
wickedness of the caste of color which prevailed 
in the United States. It was the offspring of 
slavery, and it must disappear when slavery is 
abolished. 

CONVKRSATION WITH A NEGRO. 

We had a conversation one morning with a 
boatman, while he was rowing us across the har- 
bor of St. John's. He was a young negro man. 
Said he was a slave until emancipation. We in- 
quired whether he heard any thing about eman- 
cipation betbre it took place. He said, yes — the 
slaves heard of it, but it was talked about so long 
that many of them lost all believemenl in it, got 
tired waiting, and bought their freedom; but he 
had more patience, and got his for nothing. We 
inquired of him, what the negroes did on the first 
of August, 1834. He said they all went to church 
and chapel. " Dare wa" more religious on dat 
day dan you could tiiu of." Speaking of the 
la^o, he said it was his / ■^?nd. If there was no 
law to take his part, a n.wi, who was stronger 
than he, might step up aiV-. knock him down. 
But now no one dare do so ; uil were afraid of the 
laio, — the law would never hurt ?>,iy body who 
behaved well ; but a master would slash a fellow.^ 
let him do his best. 

VISIT TO NKWFIELD. 

Drove out to Newfield, a Moravian station, 
about eight miles from St. John's. The Rev. 
Mr. Morrish, the missionary at that station, has 
under his charge two thousand people. Connect- 
ed with the station is a day school for children, 
and a night school for adults twice in each week. 

We looked in upon the day school, and found 
one hundred and fifteen children. The teacher 
and assistant were colored persons. Mr. M. su- 

Eerintenf? ./ He was just dismissing the school, 
y singing urnd prayer, and the children marched 
out to the music of one of their little songs. Du- 
ring the afternoon, Mr. Favey, manager of a 
neighboring estate, (Lavicount's,) called on us. 
He spoke of the tranquillity of the lat» Christ- 



mas holidays. Tliey ended Tuesday evening, 
and his people were all in the field at work on 
Wednesday morning — there were no stragglers. 
Being asked to specify the chief advantages of the 
new system over slavery, hu staled at once the 
following tilings : lsl.lt (free labor) is less c.z- 
pcnsivc. 2d. It costs a planter far less trouble to 
inaiiage free laborers, than it did to manage 
slaves. 3d. It had remoiied all danger of insur- 
rection, conjlagration, and conspiracies. 

ADULT SCHOOL. 

In the evening, Mr. Morrish's adult school for 
women was held. About thirty women assem- 
bled from difterent estates — some walking several 
miles. Most of them were just beginning to read. 
They had just begun to learn something about 
figures, and it was no small efibrt to add 4 and 2 
together. They were incredibly ignorant about 
the simplest matters. W^hen they first came tc 
the school, they could not tell which was their 
right arm or their right side, and tliey had scarcely 
mastered that secret, after repeated showing. W* 
were astonished to observe that when Mr. M. 
asked them to point to their cheeks, they laid their 
finger upon their chins. They were much plea- 
sed with the evolutions of a dumb clock, which 
Mr. M. exhibited, but none of them could tell the 
time of day by it. Such is a specimen of the in- 
telligence of the Antigua negroes. Mr. M. told 
us that they were a pretty fair sample of the coun- 
try negroes generally. It surely cannot be said 
that they were uncommonly well prepared for 
freedom; yet with all their ignorance, and with 
the merest infantile state of intellect, they prove 
the peaceable subjects of law. That they have a 
great desire to learn, is manifest from their coming 
such distances, after working in the field all day. 
The school which they attend has been establish- 
ed since the abolition of slavery. 

The next morning, we visited the day school. 
It was opened with singing and prayer. The 
children knelt and repeated the Lord's Prayer 
after Mr. M. They then formed into a line and 
marched around the room, singing and keeping 
the step. A tiny little one, just beginning to 
walk, occasionally straggled out of the line. The 
next child, not a little displeased with such disor- 
derly movements, repeatedly seized the straggler 
by the frock and pulled her into the ranks ; but 
finally despaired of reducing her to subordination. 
When the children had taken their seats, Mr. M., 
at our request, asked all those who were free be- 
fore August, 1834, to rise. Only one girl arose, 
and she was in no way distinguishable from a 
white child. The first exercise, was an exami- 
nation of a passage of scripture. The children 
were then questioned on the simple rules of addi- 
tion and substraction, and their answers were 
prompt and accurate. 

DR. NPGENT. 

The hour having arrived when we were tc 
visit a neighboring estate, Mr. M kmdly accom- 
panied us to Lyon's, the estate upon which Dr. 
Nugent resides. In respect to general intelligence, 
scientific acquirements, and agricultural knowl- 
*edge, no man in Antigua stands higher than Dr. 
Nugent. He has long been speaker of the house 
of assembly, and is favorably known in Europe 
as a geolosfist and man of science. He is mana- 
ger of tlie tsiatc on which he resides, and proprie- 
tor of another. 

The Doctor informed us that th« crojr on hi» 



16 



ANTIGDA. 



estate had almost totally failed, on account of the 
drouglii— being reduced from one hundred and 
fifty lioffsheads, ihe average crop, lojifteen! His 
provision grounds had yielded almost nothing. 
The same soil which ordinarily produced ten 
cart-loads of yams to the acre — the present season 
barely averaged one Load to ten acres! Yams 
were reduced from the dimensions of a man's 
head, to the size of a radish. Tiie cattle ifere 
dying from want of water and grass. He had 
\i\mse\( \osl Jive oxen within the past week. 

Previous lo emancipation, said the Doctor, no 
man in the island dared to avow ami-slavery 
sentiments, if he wislied to maintain a respectable 
standmg. Planters migiit have their hopes and 
aspirations; but they could not make them public 
without incurring general odium, and being de- 
nounced as the enemies of their country. 

In allusion to the motives which prompted the 
legislature to reject the apprenticeship and adopt 
immediate emancipation, Dr. N. said, " When we 
saw that abolition was inevitable, we began to 
inquire what would be the safest course for getting 
Irid of slavery. We wished to let ourselves down 
in the easiest manner possible — therefore we 
CHosB iMMLDiATfi EMANCIPATION !" Tliesc Were 
his words. 

On returning to the hospitable mansion of Mr. 
Morrish, we had an opportunity of witnessing a 
custom peculiar to the IMoravians. It is called 
' speaking.' All the members of the church are 
required to call on the missionary once a month, 
and particular days are appropriated to it. They 
come singly or in small companies, and the min- 
ister converses with each individual. 

Mr. M. manifested great faithfulness in this 
duty. He was affectionate in manner^entered 
into all the minuliaj of individual and family 
affairs, and advised with them as a father with 
his children. We had an opportunity of con- 
versing with some of those who came. We 
asked one old man what he did on the " First 
of August 1"* His reply was, " Massa, we 
went to church, and tank de Lord for make a 
we all free." 

An aged infirm woman said to us, among other 
things, " Since die free come de massa give me no 
— no, nothing to eat — gets all from my cousins." 
We next conversed with two men, who were 
masons on an estate. Being asked how they 
liked liberty, they replied, " O, it very comfortable. 
Sir — very comfortable indeed." They said, " that 
on the day when freedom came, they were as 
happy, as though they had just been going to 
heaven." They said, now they had got free, 
they never would be slaves again. They were 
asked if they would not be willing to sell them- 
selves, to a man who would treat them well. 
They replied immediately that they would be 
very willing to serve such a man, but they would 
not sell themselves to the best pei-son in the world ! 
What fine logicians a slave's experience had 
made these men ! Without any eftbrt they struck 
out a distinction, which has puzzh'd learned men 
in church and state, the difference between serving 
a man and being his propert?/. 

Being asked how they conducted themselves on 
the 1st of August, they said they had no frolick- 
ing, but they all went to church to " ta7ik God 
for ynake a we free."' They said, they were very 
desirous to have their children learn all they 
could while they were young. We asked them 

* By this phrase the freed people always understand 
fhe 1st of August, 1834, when slavery was abolished. 



if they did not fear that: their children woulb de- 
come lazy if they went to scht)ol all the time. 
One said, shrewdly, " Eh ! nebbei mind — dey 
come to by'm by — belly ^blige 'em to work." 

In the evening Mr. M. held a religious meeting 
in the chapel; the weekly meeting for exhortation. 
He stated to the people the object of our visit, and 
requested one of us to say a few words. Ac-, 
cordingly, a short time was occupied in stating' 
the number of slaves in America, and in explain- ' 
ing their condition, physical, moral, and spniiual ; 
and the congregation were lu-ged to pray lor the 
deliverance of the millions of our bondmen. 
They manifested much sympathy, and promised 
repeatedly to pruy that they might be " free like, 
we." At the close of the meeting they pressed | 
around us to say "howdy, massa;" and when' 
we left the chapel, they showered a thousand 
blessings upon us. Several of them, men and 
women, gathered about Mr. M.'s door after we 
went in, and wished to talk with us. The men 
were mechanics, foremen, and watchmen; the 
women were nurses. During our interview 
which lasted nearly an hour, these persons re- 
mained standing. 

When we asked them how tney liked freedom, 
and whether it was better than slavery, they 
answered with a significant nmph and a shrug 
of the shoulders, as though they would say, 
" Wh'>j you ask dat cpiestion, inassa 1" 

They said, " all the people went to chapel on 
the first of August, to tank God for make such 
poor undeserving sinners as we free ; we no 
nebber expect to hab it. But it please de Lord to 
gib we free, and we tank him good Lord for it." 
We asked them if they thought the wages they 
got (a shilling per day, or about eleven cents,) 
was enough for them. They said it seemed to 
be very small, and it was as much as they could 
do to get along with it; but they could not get 
any more, and they had to be " saiify and conten.'' 
As it grew late and the good peof)le had far to 
walk, we shook hands with them, and bade them 
good bye, telling them we hoped to meet them 
again in a world where all would be free. The 
next morning Mr. M. accompanied us to the resi- 
dence of the Rev. Mr. Jones, the rector of St. 
Phillip's. 

Mr. J. informed us that the planters in vhat, 
part of the island were gratified with the working 
of the new system. He alluded to the prejudices 
of some against having the children educated, 
lest it should foster indolence. But, said Mr. J., 
the planters have always been opposed to im- 
provements, until they were effe. ted, and their 
good results began to be manifest. They first 
insisted that the abolition of the slave-trade would 
ruin the colonies — next the abolition of slavery 
was to be the certain destruction of the islands — 
and now the eduction of children is deprecatad aj 
fraught with disastrous consequences. 

prey's estate — MK. HATLEY. 

Mr. Morrish accompanied us to a neighboring 
estate called Frey's, which lies on the road from 
Newfield to English Harbor. Mr. Hatley, the 
manager, showed an enthusiastic admiration of 
the new system. Most of his testimony will be 
found in Chapter III. He said, that owing to 
the dry weather he should not make one thiid of 
his average crop. Yet his peo[)le had acten their 
part well. He had been encouraged by their im- 
proved industry and efficiency, to bring into culti- 
vation lands that had never before been filled. 



ANTIGUAv 



n 



It was delightful to witness the change which 
had been wrought in this planter by the abohtion 
of slavery. Although accustomed for years to 
command a hundred human beings with absolute 
authority, he could rejoice in Ibe fact that his 
pnwnr was wrested from him, and when asked to 
specify the advantages of freedom over slavery, 
he named emphatically and above all others th£ 
abolUion ofjio^oinsr. Formerly, he said, it was 
"iohip—whip—whi'p--iv.cessantly," but now we 
re relieved from this disagreeable task. 

THE AMERICAN CONSUL. 

We called on the American Consul, Mr. Hig- 



f 



'j^inbothom, at his coimtry residence, about four 
miles from St. John's. Shortly after we reached 
his elevated and picturesque seat, we were joined 
by Mr. Cranstoun, a planter, who had been invited 
to dine with us. Mr. C. is a colored gcnlleman. 
The Consul received him in such a manner as 
plainly showed that they were on terms of inti- 
macy. Mr. C. is a gentleman of intelligence 
and respectability, and occupies a station of trust 
and honor in the island. On taking leave of us, 
he politely requested our company at breakfast 
on a following morning, saying, he would send 
his gig for us. 

At the urgent request of Mr. Bourne, of Mil- 
lar's, we consented to address the people of his 
estate, on Sabbath evening. He sent in his gig 
for us in the afternoon, and we drove out. 

At the appointed hour we went to the place of 
meeting. The chapel was crowded with attentive 
listeners. Whenever allusions were made to the 
great blessings which God had conferred upon 
them in delivering them from bondage, the audi- 
ence heartily responded in their rough but earnest 
way to the sentiments expressed. At the con- 
clusion of the meeting, they gradually withdrew, 
bowing or courtesyihg as they passed us, and 
dropping upon our ear their gentle " good bye, 
massa." During slavery every estite had its 
dungeon for refractory slaves. Just as we were 
leaving Millar's, we asked Mr. B. what had 
become of these dungeons. He instantly replied, 
" ril show you one." In a few moments we stood 
at the door of the old prison, a small stone build- 
ing, strongly built, with two cells. It was a 
dismal looking dpn, surrounded by stables, pig- 
styes, and cattlepens. The door was off its 
hinges, and the entrance partly filled up with 
mason-work. The sheep and goats went in and 
out at pleasure. 

We breakfasted one morning at the Villa estate, 
which lies within half a mile of St. John's. The 
manager was less sanguine in his views of 
emancipation than the planters generally. We 
were disposed to think that, were it not for the 
force of public sentiment, he might declare himself 
against it. His feelings are easily accounted for. 
The estate is situated so near the town, that his 
people are assailed by a variety of temptations to 
leave their work ; from which those on other 
estates are exempt. The manager admitted that 
the danger of insurrection was removed — crime 
was lessened— and the moral condition of society 
was rapidly improving. 

A few days after, we went by invitation to a 
bazaar, or fair, which was held in the court-house 
in St. John's. The avails were to be appropriated 
to the building of a new Wesleyan chapel in the 
town. The council chamber and the assembly's 
nail were given for the purpose. The former 
spacious room was crowdeid with people of every 



class and cbrtiplexion. The fair was got xip by 
the colored members of the Wesleyan church; 
nevertheless, some of the first ladies and gentle- 
men in town attended it, and mingled promiscu- 
ously in the throng. Wealthy proprietors, law- 
yers, legislators, military officers in their uniform, 
merchants, etc. swelled the crowd. We recognised 
a number of ladies whom we had previously met 
at a fashionable dinner in St. John's. Colored 
ladies presided at the tables, and before them was 
spread a profusion of rich fancy articles. Among 
a small number of books exhibited for sale were 
several copies of a work entitled " Commemora- 
tive Wreath," being a collection of poetical 
pieces relating to the abolition of slavery in the 
West Indies. 

VISIT TO MR. ORANSTOUn's. 

On the following morning Mr. C.'s gig came 
for us, and we drove out to his residence. We 
were met at the door by the American Consul, 
who breakfasted with us. When he had taken 
leave, Mr. C. proposed that we should go over 
his grounds. To reach the estate, which lies in a 
beautiful valley far below Mr. C.'s mountainous 
residence, we were obliged to go on foot by a nar- 
row path that wound along the sides of the pre- 
cipitous hills. This estate is the property of Mr. 
Athill, a colored gentleman now residing in En^ 
land. Mr. A. is post-master general of Antigua!;' 
one of the first merchants in St. John's, and waS 
a member of the assembly until the close of 1S36, 
when, on account of his continued absence, he 
resigned his seat. A high-born white man, the 
Attorney General, now occupies the same chair 
which this colored member vacated. Mr. C. was 
formerly attorney for several estates, is now 
agent for a number of them, and also a magis- 
trate. 

He remarked, that since emancipation the noc- 
turnal disorders and quarrels in the negro villages, 
which were incessant during slavery, had nearly 
ceased. The people were ready and willing to 
work. He had frequently given his gang jo'o", 
instead of paying them by the day. This had 
proved a great stimulant' to industry, and the 
work of the estate was performed so much quicker 
by this plan that it was less expensive than daily 
wages. When they had jobs given them, they 
would sometimes go to work by three o'clock in 
the morning, and work by moonlight. When the 
moon was not shining, he had known them to 
kindle fires among the trash or dry cane leaves to 
work by. They would then continue working all 
day until four o'clock, stopping only for breakfast, 
and dispensing with the usual intermission from 
twelve to two. 

We requested him to state briefly what were in 
his estimation the advantages of the free system 
over slavery. He replied thus . 1st. The dimin- 
ished expense of free labor. 2d. The absence of 
coercion. 3d. The greater facility in managing 
an estate. Managers had not half the perplexity 
and trouble in watching, driving, &c. They 
could leave the affairs of the estate in the hands 
of the people with safety. 4th. The freedom from 
danger. They had now put away all fears of 
insurrections, robbeiy, and incendiarism. 

There are two reflections which the p.erusal of 
these items will probably suggest to most minds: 
1st. The coincidence in the replies of dtTerent 
planters to the qu. stion— What are the ndvania- 
ges of freedom over slaveiy 1 These replies are 
almost identically the same in every case, though 



18 



ANTIGUA. 



given by men who reside in different parts of the 
island, and have little communication with each 
other. 2d. They all speak exclusively of the ad- 
vantages to the master, and say noihino; of the 
benefit accruing to the emancipated. We are at 
some loss to decide whetlier this arose from in- 
diflcrence to the interests of the emancipated, or 
from a conviction that the blessings of freedom 
to them were self-evident and needed no specifi- 
cation. 

While we were in the boiling-house we wit- 
nessed a scene which illustrated one of the benefits 
of freedom lo the -slave ; it came quite opportunely, 
and supplied the deficiency in the manager's 
enumeration of advantages. The head boiler was 
performing the work of 'striking off;' i. e. of 
removing the liquor, after it had been sufficiently 
boiled, from the copper to the coolers. The liquor 
had been taken out of the boiler by the skipper, 
and thence was being conducted to the coolers by 
a long open spout. By some means the spout 
became choaked, and the liquor began to run over. 
Mr. C. ordered the man to let down the valve, but 
he became confused, and instead of letting go the 
string which lifted the valve, he pulled on it the 
more. The consequence was that the liquor 
poured over the sidos of the spout in a torrent. 
The manager screamed at the top of his voice — 
" Let down^the valve, lei it dnum!" But the poor 
man, more and more frightened, hoisted it -still 
higher, — and the precious liquid — pure sugar — 
spread in a thick sheet over the earthern floor. 
The manager at last sprang forward, thrust aside 
the man, and stopped the mischief, but not until 
many gallons of sugar were lost. Such an acci- 
dent as this, occurring during slavery, would have 
cost the negro a severe flogging. As it was, 
'^owever, in the present case, although Mr. C. 
/ooked daggers,' and exclaimed by the workings 
of his countenance, ' a kingdom for a cat,'"" yet 
the severest thing which he could say was, " You 
bungling fellow — if you can't manage better than 
this, I shall put some other person in your place — 
'hat's all." ' Tkafs auJ indeed, but it would not 
{lave been all, three years ago. The negro replied 
to his chidings in a humble way, sayinj; ' [ 
couldn't help it, sir, I couldn't help it ' Mr. C. 
finally turned to us, and said in a calmer tone, 
" The poor fellow got confused, and was frighten- 
ed half to death." 

VISIT TO GRACE BAY. 

"tve made a visit to the Moravian settlement at 
Grace Bay, which is on the opposite side of the 
island. We called, in passing, at Cedar Hall, a 
Moravian establishment four miles from town. 
Mr. Newby, one of the missionaries stationed at 
ihis place, is the oldest preacher of the Gospel in 
the island. ,He has been in Antigua for twenty- 
seven years. He is quite of the old way nf 
thinking on all subjects, especially the divine 
right of kings, and the scriptural sanction of 
slavery. Nevertheless, he was jiersuaded that 
emancipation had been a great blessing to the 
island and to all parties concerned. When he 
first came to Antigua in 1809, he was not suffered 
to teach the slaves. After some time he ventured 
to keep an evening school in a secret way. Now 
there is a day school of one hundred and twenty 
children connected with the station. It has been 
formed since emancipation. 

From Cedar Hail we proceeded to Grace Bay. 
On the way we met some negro men at work on 

* A species c f whip, well known in the West Indies. 



the road, and stopped our chaise to chat witk 
them. They told us that they lived on Harvey's 
estate, which they pointed out to us. Befoie 
emancipation that estate had four hundred slaves 
on it, but a great number had since left because of 
ill usage during slavery. They would not live 
on the estate, because the same manager remained, 
and they could not trust him. 

They told us they were Moravians, and that 
on the first of August they all went to the Mora- 
vian chapel at Grace Bay, 'to tank and praise 
de good Savior for make a we free.' We asked 
them if they still liked liberty; they said, " Yes, 
massa, we all quite proud to be free." The ne- 
groes use the word proud to express a strong 
feeling of delight. One man said, " One morning 
as I was walking along the roail all alone, 1 
prayed that the Savior would make me free, for 
then I could be so hnnny. I don't know whfit 
made me pray so, foi I wasn't looking for de 
free; but please massA, in 07ie mont'i de free 
come." 

They declared that they worked a great deal 
better since emancipation, because they were 
paid for it. To be sure, said they, we eet very 
little wages, but it is better than none. They re- 
peated it again and again, that men could not be 
made to work well by Jlogging them, " it was nu 
use to try it." 

We asked one of the men, whether he would 
not be willing to be a slave again provided he was 
sureoi having a kind master. " Heigh 1 me mas- 
sa," said he, " me neber slave no more. A good 
massa a veiy good ting, hul freedom till better P 
They said that it was a great blessing to them to 
have their children go to school. After getting 
them to show us the way to Grace Bay, we bade 
them good bye. 

We were welcomed at Grace Bay by the mis- 
sionary, and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Mohne.* 
The place where tliese missionar><"" ,eside is a 
beautiful spot. Their d"":'.!ii)g-house and the 
chapel are situated on a high promontory, almost 
surrounded by the sea. A range of tall hills in 
the rear cuts off the view of the Island, giving to 
the missionary station an air of loneliness and se- 
clusion truly impressive. In this sequestered spot, 
we found Mr. and Mrs. M. living alone. They 
informed us that they rarely have white visiters, 
but their house is the constant resort of the negroes, 
who gather there after the toil of the day to ' speak' 
about their souls. Mr. and Mrs. M. are wholly 
engrossed in their labors of love. They find their 
happiness in leading their numerous flock " by 
the still waters and the green pastures" of salva- 
tion. Occupied in this delightful work, they covet 
not other employments, nor other company, and 
desire no other earthly abode than their own littlf 
hill-embosomed, sea-girt missionary home. 

There are a thousand people belonging to the 
church at this statio ', each of whom, the mission- 
aries see once every month. A day school has 
been lately established, and one hundred children 
are already in attendance. After dinner we walk- 
ed out accompanied by the missionaries to enjoy 
the beautiful sunset. It is one of the few harmless 
luxuries of a West India climate, to go forth after 
the heat of the day is spent and the sun is sinking 
in the sea, and enjoy the refreshing coolness of 
the air. The ocean stretched before us, motionless 
after the turmoil of the day, like a child which has 
rocked itself ay'ieej). yt indicating by its mighty- 
breathings as it heaved along the beach, that it 
* Pronounced Maynuh. 



ANTIGUA; 



19 



OTiy slumbered. As the sun went down, the full 
moon arose, only less luminous, and gradually the 
stars began to li^ht up their beaming fires. The 
work of the day now being over, the weary labo- 
rdrs were seen coming from different directions to 
hive a' speak' with the missionaries. 

Mr. M. Slated a fact illustrative of the influence 
of the missionaries over the negroes. Some time 
ago, the laborers on a certa'a estate bpcame dissa- 
tisfied with the wages they were receiving, and 
refused to work unless they were increased. The 
manager tried in vain to reconcile his people to the 
grievance of which they complained, and then 
sent to Mr. M., requesting him to visit the estate, 
and use his influence to persuade the negroes, most 
of whom belonged to his cliurch, to work at the 
U!5ua) terms. Mr. M. sent word to the manager 
that It was not his province, as minister, to inter- 
fere with the affairs of any estate; but he would 
talk with the people about it individually, when 
they came to 'speak.' Accordingly he snoke to 
each one, as he came, in a kind manner, advising 
him to return to his work, and live as fonnerly. 
In a short time peace and confidence were res- 
tored, and the whole gang to a man were in the 
field. 

Mr. and Mrs. M. stated that notwithstanding 
the very low rate of wages, which was scarcely 
suflicient to support life^ they had never seen a 
single individual who desired to return to the con- 
dition of a slave. Even the old and infirm, who 
were sometimes really in a suffering state from 
neglect of the planters and from inability of their 
relatives adequately to provide for them, express- 
ed the liveliest gratitude for the great blessing 
which the Savior had given them. They would 
often say to Mrs. M. " Why, Missus, old sinner 
just sinkin in de grave, but God let me old eyes 
see dis blessed sun." 

The missionaries affirmed that the negroes were 
an affectionate people — remarkably so. Any 
kindness shown them by a white person, was 
treasured up and never forgotten. On the other 
hand, the slightest neglect or contempt from a 
while person, was keenly felt. They are very 
fond of saying' howdy' to white people; but if the 
salutation 'is not returned, or noticed kindly, they 
are not likely to repeat it to the same individual. 
To shake hands with a white person is a gratifi- 
cation which they highly prize. Mrs. M. plea- 
santly remarked, that after service on Sabbath, she 
was usually wearied out with saying howdy, and 
sliaking hands. 

During the evening we had some conversation 
with two men who came to ' speak.' They spoke 
about the blessings of liberty, and their gratitude 
to God for making them free. They spoke also, 
vith deep feeling, of the still greater importance 
of being free from sin. That, they said, was 
better. Heaven icas the first best, and freedom was 
the next best. 

They gave us some account, in the course of the 
evening, of an aged saint called Grandfather Jacob, 
wholived on a neighboring estate. He had been 
a Icelper* in the Moravian church, until he became 
too infirm to discharge the duties connected with 
that station. Being for the same reason discharg- 
ed from labor on the estate, he now occupied him- 
self in givina: religious instruction to the other 
Bupprannuated people on the estate. 

Mrs. M. said it would constitute an era in tiie 
life of the old man, if he could have an interview 
with two strangers from a distant land; accord- 
' An office somewhat similar to that of deacon. 



ingly, she sent a servant to ask him to come to the 
mission-house early the next morning. The old 
man was prompt to obey the call. He lefi home, 
as he said, ' before the gun fire' — about five o'clock 
— and came nearly three miles on foot. He was 
of a slender form, and had been tall, but age and 
slavery had bowed him down. He shook us by the 
hand very warmly, exclaiming, "God bless you, 
God bless you — me bery glad to see you." He im- 
mediately commenced giving us an account of his 
conversion. Said he, putting iiis hand on his breast, 
" You see old Jacob 1 de old sin/ier use to go on 
dHnkin' , swearin', danciii' , fightin' l No God-r 
no Savior — no soul ! When old England and de 
Merica fall out de first time, old Jacob was a man 
— a wicked sinner' — drink rum, fight — love to 
fight! Carry coffin to de grabe on me head; put 
dead body under ground — dance over it — den fight 
and knock man down— go 'way, drink rum, den 
take de fiddle. And so me went on, just so, til! 
me get sick and going to die— thought when me 
dicj^dat bede end of me; — den de Savior come to 
me! Jacob love de Savior, and been followin' de 
good Savior ever since." He continued his story, 
describing the opposition he had to contend with, 
and the sacrifices he made to go to church. After 
working on the estate till six o'clock at night, he 
and several others would each take a large stone, 
on his head and start for St. John's; nine miles 
over the hills. They carried the stones to aid ia 
building the Moravian chapel at Spring Garden, 
St. John's. After he had finished this account, he 
read to us, in a highly animated style, .some of the 
hymns which he taught to theold people, and then 
sung one of them. These exercises caused the 
old man's heart to burn within him, and again he 
ran over his past life, his early wickedness, and 
the grace that snatched him from ruin, while the 
mingled tides of gratitude burst forth from heart, 
and eyes, and tongue. 

When we turned his attention to the temporal 
freedom he had received, he instantly caught the 
word FREE, and exclaimed vehemently, " O y?fi, 
me Massa — dat is anoder kind blessin from Ue 
Savior ! Him make we all free. Can never praise 
him too much for dat." We inquired whether he 
was now provided for by the manager. He said 
he was not — never received any thing from him- 
his children supported him. We then asked him 
whether it was not better to be a slave if he could 
get food and clothing, than to be free and not have 
enough. He darted bis quick eye at us and said 
' rader be free still.'' He had been severely flog- 
ged twice since his conversion, for leaving his post 
as watchman to bury the dead. The minister 
was sick, and he was applied to, in his capacity of 
helper, to perform funeral rites, and he left his 
watch to do it. He said, his heavenly Master 
called him, and he would go though he expected a 
flogging. He must serve his Savior whatever 
come. " Can't put we in dungeon now," said 
Grandfather Jacob with a triumphant look. 

When told that there were slaves in America, 
and that they were not yet emancipated, he ex- 
claimed, " Ah, de Savior make we free, and he 
will make dem free too. He come to Antigo first 
— he'll be in Merica soon." 

When the time had come for 'him to leave, he 
came and pressed our hands, and fervently gave 
us his patriarchal blessing. Our interview with 
Grandfather Jacob can never be forgotten. Our 
hearts, we trust, will long cherish his heavenly 
savor— well assured that if allowed a part in the 
resurection of the just, we shall behold his tall 



20 



ANTIGUA, 



form, erect in the vigor of immortal youth, amidst 
the patriarchs of past generations. 

After breakfast we toolt leave of the kind-heart- 
ed missionaries, whose singular devoiedness and 
delightful spirit won greatly upon our affections, 
and bent our way homeward by another route. 

MR. Scotland's estate. 

We called at the estate of Mr. J. Scotland, Jr., 
barrister, and member of the assembly. We ex- 
pected to meet with tlie proprietor, but the manager 
informed us that pressing business at court had 
called him to St. John's on the preceding day. 
The testimony of the manager concerning the 
dry weather, the consequent failure in the crop, 
the industry of the laborers, and so forth, was si- 
milar to that which we had iieard before. He 
remarked that he had not been able to introduce 
job-work among his people. It was a new thing 
with them, and they did not understand it. He 
had lately made a proposal to give the gang four 
dollars per acre for holding a certain field. They 
asked a little tmie to consider upon so novel a pro- 
position. He gave thena half a day, and at the 
end of that time asked them what their conclusion 
was. One, acting as spokesman for the rest, said, 
'■ We rada hab de shilling wages." That was 
certain ; the job might yield them more, and it 
might fall short — quite a common sense trans- 
action ! 

At the pressing request of Mr. Armstrong we 
spent a day with him at Fitch's Creek. Mr. A. 
received us with the most cordial hospitality, re- 
marking tliat he was glad to have another oppor- 
tunity to slate some things which he regarded as 
obstacles to the complete success of the experi- 
ment in Antigua. One was the entire want of 
concert among the planters. There was no dis- 
position to meet and compare views respecting 
different modes of agriculture, treatment of labor- 
ers, and employment of machinery. Another evil 
was, allowing people to live on the estates who 
took no part in the regular labor of cultivation. 
Some planters had adopted the foolish policy of 
encouraging such persons to remain on the es- 
tates, in order that they might have help at hand 
in cases of emergency. Mr. A. strongly con- 
demned this policy. It withheld laborers from 
the estates whicli needed them ; it was calculated 
to make the regular field hands discontented, and 
it offered a direct encouragement to the negroes to 
follow irregular modes of living. A tiiird obsta- 
cle to the successful operation of free labor, was 
the absence of the most influential proprietors. 
The consequences of absenteeism were very seri- 
ous. The proprietors were of all men the most 
deeply interested in the soil; and no attorneys, 
agents, or managers, whom they could employ, 
would feel an equal interest in it, nor make the 
same efforts to secure the prosperous workings of 
the new system. 

In the year 1833, when the abolition excite- 
ment was at its height in England, and the peo- 
ple were thundering at thedoors of parliament for 
emancipation, Mr. A. visited that country for his 
health. To use his own expressive words, he 
" got a terrible scraping wherever he went." He 
said he could not travel in a stage-coach, or go 
into a party, or attend a religious meeting, with- 
out beins attacked. No one the most rpmotely 
«onnect('d with thf- syst/'!n could have ;;rac'- itere. 
He said it was astonishing to see what a feeling 
was abroad, how mightily the mind of the whole 



country, peer and priest and peasant, was wroug 
up. The national heart seemed on fire. 

Mr. A. said, he became a religious man whi. 
the manager of a slave estate, and when he becar 
a Christian, he became an abolitionist. Yet tl 
man, while his conscience was accusing him 
while he was longing and praying for abolition 
did not daie open his mouth in public to urge 
on ! How many such men are there in our soul 
ern states — men who are inwardly cheering on t 
abolitionist in his devoted work, and yet send i 
no voice to encourage him, but perhaps are trt. 
ducing and denouncing him ! 

We received a call at our lodgings in St. Joht 
from the Archdeacon. He made iriteresting stai 
ments respecting the improvement of the negron 
in dress, morals, education and religion, simi 
emancipation. He had resided in the island sort- 
years previous to the abolition of slavery, ai ^ 
spoke from personal observation. 

Among many other gentlemen who honored t 
with a call about the same time, was the Rev. Et 
ward Eraser, Wesleyan missionary, and a colore 
gentleman. He is a native of Bermuda, and te; 
years ago was a slave. He received a mercantil 
education, and was for several years the confiden 
tial clerk of his master. He was treated witl 
much regard and general kindness. He said he 
was another Joseph — every thing which his mas- 
ter had was in his hands. Tne account books 
and money were all committed to him. He had 
servants under him, and did almost as he pleased 
— except becoming free. Yet he must say, as re- 
spected himself, kindly as he was treated, that 
slavery was a grievous wrong, most unjust and 
sinful. The very thought — and it often came 
over him — that he was a slave, brought with it a 
terrible sense of degradation. It came over the 
soul like a frost. His sense of degradation grew 
more intense in proportion as his mind became 
more cultivated. He said, education was a disa- 
greeable companion for a slave. But while he 
said this, Mr. F. spoke very respectfully and ten- 
derly of his master. He would not willingly ut- 
ter a word which would savor of unkindness to- 
wards him. Such was the spirit of one whose 
best days had been spent under the exactions of 
slavery. He was a local preacher in the Wes- 
leyan connection while he was a slave, and was 
liberated by his master, without remuneration, at 
the request of the British Conference, who wished 
to employ him as an itinerant. He is highly es- 
teemed both for his natural talents and general 
literary acquisitions and moral worth. The Con- 
ference have recently called him to England to act 
as an agent in that cotintry, to procure funds for 
educational and religious purposes in these 
islands. ' ^ 

ia 

MEETING OF WESLEYAN MISSIONARIES. ^^^ 

As we were present at the annual meeting 
of the Wesleyan missionaries for this district, 
we gained much information concerning the ob- 
ject of our mission, as there were about twenty 
missionaries, mostly from Dominica, Montserrat, 
Nevis, St. Christophers, Anguilla, and Tortola. 

Not a few of them were men of superior ac- 
quirements, who had sacrificed ease and popular 
applause at home, to minister to the outcast and 
oppressed. They are the devoted friends of the 
black man. It was soul-cheerin<?: to hearthf-m re- 
joice (ivcv the a'uclilii.ii ot' blavcry. it \i'as as 
though their own limbs had been of a sudden un- 
shackled, and a high ws^ll had falle.i from iround 



ANTIGUA. 



ai 



lem. Liberty had broken upon them like the 
arsting forth of the sun to the watchman on his 
liiiniglit tower. 

During the session, the mission-house was 
n-own open to us, and we frequently dined with 
le numerous company of missionaries, who tiiere 
te at a common table. Mrs. F., wife of the co- 
)red clergyman mentioned above, presided at the 
icial board. The missionaries and their wives 
ssociated with Mr, and Mrs. F. as unreservedly 
3 though ihey w jre the most delicate European 
jfit. The firs*, time we took supper with them, 
t one side oi a large table, around which were 
/(bout tw'nty missionaries with their wives, sat 
Mrs. F , with the furniture of a tea table before 
her. On the other side, with the coffee urn and 
lis accompaniments, sat the wife of a missionary, 
'iih a skm as lily-hued as the fairest Caucasian, 
(early opposite to her, between two white preach- 
•s, sat a colored missionary. Farther down, 
'iih the chairman of the district on his right, sat 
nother colored gentleman, a merchant and local 
readier in Antigua. Such was the uniform ap- 
earance of the table, excepting that the numbers 
ere occasionally swelled by the addition of se- 
cral other colored gentlemen and ladies. On an- 
iher occasion, at dinner, we had an interesting 
inversation, in which the whole company of 
lissionaries participated. The Rev. M. Banks, 
f St. Bartholomews, remarked, that one of the 
rossest of all absurdities was that of preparing 
X7i for freedom. Some, said he, pretend that im- 
. lediate emancipation is unsafe, but it was evident 
) hiin tliat if men are peaceable while they are 
■aves, they might be trusted in any other condi- 
on, for they could not possibly be placed in one 
lore aggravating. If slavery is a safe system, 
rei'dom surely will be. There can be no better 
vldence that a people are prepared for liberty, 
'lan. tlieir patient endurance of slavery. He ex- 
ressed the greatest regret at the conduct of the 
American churches, particularly that of the Me- 
lodist church. " Tell them," said he, " on your 
eturn, that the missionaries in these islands are 
ast down and grieved when they think of their 
•rethren in America. We feel persuaded that 
hey are holding back the car of freedom ; they are 
ledging up the gospel." Rev. Mr. Cheesbrough, 
)f St. Christopher's, said, " Tell them that miich 
is we desire to visit the United States, we cannot 
10 so long as we are prohibited from speaking 
igainst slavery, or while that ahominable preju- 
Hoc is encouraged in the churches. We could not 
zdminister the sacrament to a church in which the 
iiUi'/iction of colors was maintained." " Tell our 
brethren of the Wesleyan connection," said Mr. 
B. again, " that slavery must be abolished by 
Christians, and the church ought to take her stand 
at once against it." We told him that a large 
number of Methodists and other Christians had 
engaged alreeidy in the work, and that the num- 
ber was daily increasing. " That's right," he ex- 
claimed, " agitate, agitate, agitate ! Yoiv must 
succeed ; the Lord is with you." He dwelt par- 
ticularly on the obligations resting upon Chris- 
tians in the free states. He said, " Men must be 
at a distance from slavery to judge of its real cha- 
racter. Persons living in the midst of it, gradu- 
ally become familiarized with its horrors and 
woes, so that they can view calmly, exhibitions 
from which they would once have shrunk in dis- 
may." 

We had some conversation with Rev. Mr. 
Walton, of Montserrat. After making a number 



of statements in reference to the apprenticeship 
there, Mr. W. stated that there had been repeated 
instances of planters emancipating all their ap- 
prentices. He thought there had been a case of 
this kind every month for a year past. The plan- 
ters were becoming tired of the apprenticeship, 
and from mere considerations of interest and com- 
fort, were adopting free labor. 

A new impulse had been given to education in 
Montserrat, and schools were springing up in all 
parts of the island. Mr. W. thought there was no 
island in which education was so extensive. Re- 
hgious influences were spreading among the peo- 
ple of all classes. Marriages were occurring every 
week. 

We had an interview with the Rev. Mr. H., an 
aged colored minister. He has a high standing 
among his brethren, for talents, piety, and use- 
fulness. There are few ministers in the West 
Indies who have accomplished more /or the cause 
of Christ than has Mr. H.* 

He said he had at different periods been station- 
ed in Antigua, Anguilla, Tortola, and some other 
islands. He said that the negroes in the other 
islands in which he had preached, were as intelli- 
gent as those in Antigua, and in every respect as 
well prepared for freedom. He was in Anguilla 
when emancipation took place. The negroes there 
were kept at work on the very day that freedom 
came! They worked as orderly as on any other 
day. The Sabbath following, he preached to them 
on their new state, explaining the apprenticeship 
to them. He said the whole congregation were in 
a state of high excitement, weeping and shouting. 
One man sprang to his feet, and exclaimed, ' Me 
never forget God and King William.' This same 
man was so full that he went out of the chapel, 
and burst into loud weeping. 

The preaching of che missionaries, during their 
stay in Antigua, was full of allusions to the abo- 
lition of slavery in the West Indies, and especially 
to the entire emancipation in Antigua, Indeed, 
we rarely attended a meeting in Antigua, of any 
kind, in which the late emancipation was not in 
some way alluded to with feehngs of gratitude 
and exultation. In the ordinary services of the 
Sabbath, this subject was almost uniformly intro- 
duced, either in the prayer or sermon. Whenever 
thanksgiving was rendered to God for favors, /re«- 
dom was among the number. 

The meeting of the district afforded an oppor-^ 
tunity for holding a number of anniversary meet- 
ings. We notice them here, believing that they 
will present the most accurate view that can be 
given of the religious and moral condition oi 
Antigua. 

On the evening of the 1st of February, the first 
anniversary of the Antigua Temperance Society 
was held in the Wesleyan chapel. We had been 
invited to attend and take a part in the exercises. 
The chapel was crowded with a congregation of 
all grades and complexions. Colored and white 
gentlemen appeared together on the plntform. We 
intimated to a member of the committee, that we 
could not conscientiously speak without advocat- 
ing <o/«Z ftZis^mewce, which doctrine, weconcluded 
from the nature of the pledge, (which only in- 
cluded ardent spirits.) would not be well received. 
We were assured that we might use the most per- 
fect freedom in avowing our sentiments. 

■ It is .1 fact well known in Antigua and Barbadoes, tliat 
this colored missionary lias been in.strun\ental in the cou- 
version of several clergymen of the Episcopal Church ia 
those islands, who are now en iuently devoted men 



fi2 



ANTI'GUA. 



The speakers on this occasion were two plan- 
ters, a Wesleyan missionary, and ourselves. All 
advocated tlie docuine of total abstinence. The 
first speaker, a planter, concluded by saying, that 
it was commonly believed that wine and malt 
were rendered absolutely indispensable in the 
West Indies, by the exhausting nature of the cli- 
mate. But facts disprove the truth of this notion. 
" I am happy to say that I can now present this 
large assembly with ocular demonstration of the 
fallacy of the popular opinion. I need only point 
you to the worthy occupants of this platform. 
Who are the healthiest among them 1 The cold 
u-aler drinkers — l/ie teclotallersl We can assure 
you that we have not lost a pound of flesh, by 
abandoning our cups. We have tried the cold 
water experiment faithfully, and we can testify 
that since we became cold water men, we work 
better, we eat better, we sleep better, and we do 
every thing better than before." The next 
speaker, a planter also, dwelt on the inconsisten- 
cy of using wine and malt, and at the same time 
calling upon the poor to give up ardent spirits. 
He said this inconsistency had been cast in his 
teeth by his negroes. He never could prevail 
upon them to stop drinking rum, until he threw 
away his wine and porter. Now he and all his 
people were teetotallists. There were two other 
planters who had taken the same cour.se. He 
stated, as the result of a careful calculation which 
he had made, that he and the two planters referred 
to, had been in the habit of giving to their people 
not less than one thousand gallons of rum annu- 
ally. The whole of this was now withheld, and 
molasses and sugar were given instead. The 
missionary who followed them was not a whit 
behind in boldness and zeal, and between them, 
they left us little to say in our turn on the subject 
of total abstinence. 

On the following evening the anniversary 
of the Bible Society was held in the Moravian 
school-room. During the day we received a note 
from the Secretary of the Society, politely request- 
ing us to be present. The spacious school-room 
was filled, and the broad platform crowded with 
church clergymen, Moravian n.inisters, and Wes- 
leyan missionaries, colored and white. The Sec- 
retary, a Moravian minister, read the twenty-first 
annual report. It spoke emphatically of ' the joy- 
ful event of emancipation,' and in allusion to 
an individual in England, of whom it spoke in 
terms of high commendation, it designated him, 
as one " who was distinguished for his efforts in 
the abolition of slavery." The adoption of the 
report was moved by one of the Wesleyan mis- 
sionaries, who spoke at some length. He com- 
menced by speaking of " the peculiar emotions 
with which he always arose to address an assem- 
bly of the free people of Antigua. It had been 
his lot for a year past to labor in a colony^ where 
slavery still reigned, and he could not but thank 
God for the happiness of setting his foot once 
more on the free soil of an emancipated island. 

Perhaps the most interesting meeting in the 
series, was the anniversary of the Wesleyan 
Missionary Society of Antigua. Both parts of 
the day were devoted to this anniversary. The 
nneetine:s were held in the Wesleyan chapel, which 
was ftUed above and below, with the usual com- 
mixture of wliite, colored, and black. We saw, 
as on former occasions, several colored gentlemen 
seated among the ministers. After the usual in- 
troductory exercises of singing and prayer, the 
♦ St. Martin's. 



annual report was read by the Secretary, Rev. E 
Fraser, tlie colored minister already mentioned. 
It was terse, direct, and business-like. The meet- ^ 
ing was then addressed by a Moravian missiona- 
ry. He dwelt upon the decrease of tiie sectarian 
spirit, and hailed the coming of Christian charity 
and brotherly communion. He opened his Bible, 
and read about the middle wall of partition being 
broken down. This is what we must have, said 
he; the partition wall between Christians must be 
broken down. "Yes, brother," said Mr. Home, 
"and every other wall." " The rest are but pa- 
per walls," responded the speaker, " and when 
once the middle wall is removed, these will soon 
be burned up by the fire of Christian love." 

The next speaker was a Wesleyan missionary 
of Nevis. He spoke of the various instrumen- 
talities which were now employed for the con- 
version of the world. " We welcome," said he, -j 
" the co-operation of America, and with all our 
hearts do we rejoice that she is now beginning to 
put away from her that vile system of oppression 
which has hitherto crippled her moral energy and 
her religious enterprise." Then turning and 
addressing himself to us, he said, " We hail you, 
dear brethren, as co-workers with us. Go for- 
ward in your blessed undertaking. Be not dis- 
mayed with the huge dimensions of that vice 
which you are laboring to overthrow! Be not 
disheartened by the violence and menaces of your 
enemies ! Go forward. Proclaim to the churcli 
and to your countrymen the sinfulness of slavery, 
and be assured that soon the fire of truth will 
melt down the massy chains of oppression." He 
then urged upon the people of Antigua their pe- 
culiar obligations to extend the gospel to other 
lands. It was the Bible that made them free, 
and he begged them to bear in mind that there 
were millions of their countrymen still in the 
chains of slavery. This appeal was received 
with great enthusiasm. 

We then spoke on a resolution which had been 
handed us by the Secretaiy, and which affirmed 
" that the increasing and acknowledged usefulness 
of Christian missions was a subject of congratu- 
lation." We spoke of the increase of missionary 
operations in our own country, and of the spirit 
of self-denial which was widely spreading, par- 
ticularly among young Christians. We spoke 
of that accursed thing in our midst, which not 
only tended greatly to kill the spirit of missions 
in the church, but which directly withheld many 
young men from foreign missionary fields, it 
had made more than two millions of heathen in 
our country ; and so long as the cries of these 
heathen at home entered the ears of our young 
men and young women, they could not, dare not, 
go abroad. How could they go to Ceylon, to 
Burmah, or to Hindostan, with the cry of their 
country^s heathen ringing in their ears! How 
could they tear themselves away from famished 
millions kneeling at their feet in chains and beg- 
ging for the bread of life, and roam afar tc China 
or the South Sea Islands ! Increasing numbers 
filled with a missionary spirit felt that their obli- 
gations were at home, and they were resolved 
that if they could not carry the gospel forthwith 
to the slaves, they would labor for the overthrow 
of that system which made it a crime punishable ' 
with death to preach salvation to the poor. Ir 
conclusion, the iiope was expressed that the peop' 
of Antigua — so highly favored with freedo' 
education, and religion, would never forget that .,i 
the nation whence we came, there were *»/x» «ti 



ANTICI. .L. 



itansand a half of keathen, who, instead of bread, 
reci'ived stonos and scorpions ; instead of tlie 
Bible, bolts and bars ; instead of the gospul, 
cliains and scouri^ings; instead of the hope of 
salvation, tliick darka«"ss and despair. They 
were entreated to remember that in the gloomy 
dungeon, from which they had lately escaped, 
there were deeper and more dismal cells, yet filled 
with millions of their countrymen. The state 
of feeling produced by this reference to slavery, 
was such as might be anticipcttcd in an audience, 
A portion of which were once slaves, and still 
remembered freshly the horrors of their late con- 
dition. 

The meeting was concluded after a sitting of 
more than four hours. The attendance in the 
evening was larger than on any former occasion. 
Many were unable to get within the chapel. We 
were again favored with an opportunity of urging 
a variety of considerations touching the general 
cause, as well as those drawn from the condition 
of our own country, and the special objects of our 
mission. 

The Rev. Mr. Home spoke very pointedly on 
the subject of slavery. He began by saying that 
he had been so long accustomed to speak cau- 
tiously about slavery, that he was even now 
almost afraid of his own voice when he alluded 
to it. [General laughter.] But he would re- 
member that he was in a. free island, and that he 
spoke lo freemen, and therefore he had nothing to 
fear. 

He said the peace and prosperity of these colo- 
nies is a matter of great moment in itself con- 
sidered, but it was only when viewed as an ex- 
ample to the rest of the slaveholding world that 
its real magnitude and importance was perceived. 
The influence of abolition, and especially of en- 
tire emancipation in Antigua, must be very great. 
The eyes of the world were fixed upon her. The 
great nation of America must now soon toll the 
kiiell of slavery, and this event will be hastened 
ijy the happy operation of freedom here. 

Mr. H. proceeded to say, that during the agita- 
tion of the slavery question at home, he had been 
suspected of not being a friend to emancipation ; 
and it would orobably be remembered by some 
present that his name appeared in the report of 
thecommittee of the House of Commons, where 
it stood in no enviable society. But whatever 
•:ni."i'ht be thought of his course at that time, he 
fell assi'.:' ;d that the day was not far distant when 
he should be able to clear up every thing connected 
with it. It was not a little gratifying to us to 
<»ce that the time had come in the West Indies, 
rf\\<in the suspicion of having been opposed to 
emancipation is a stain upon the memory from 
which a public man is glad to vindicate himself 

RESOLUTION OF THE MEETING. 

After a few other addresses were delivered, 
and just previous to the dismission of the assem- 
bly. Rev. Mr. Cox, Chairman of the District, 
arose and said, that as this was the last of the 
anniversary meetings, he begged to move a reso- 
lution which he had no doubt would meet with 

, the hearty and unanimous approval of that large 
assembly. He then read the following resolution, 

. which we insert here as an illustration of the 

, universal sympathy in the objects of our mission. 

. As the resolution is not easily divisible, we insert 
the whole of it, making no ado on the score of 

«_^odesty. 

" Resolved, that this meeting is deeply im- 



pressed Jvith the importance of the services ren- 
dered this day to the cause of missions by the 

acceptable addresses of Mr. , from America, 

and begs especially to express to him and his 

friend Mr. , the assurance of their sincere 

sympathy in the object of their visit to Antigua." 

Mr. C. said he would make no remarks in sup- 
port of the resolution he had just read, for he did 
not deem them necessary. He would therefore 
propose at once ihat the vote be taken by rising. 
The Chairman read the resolution accordingly, 
and requested those who were in favor of adopt- 
ing it, to rise. Not an individual in the crowded 
congregation kept his seat. The masters and 
the slaves of yesterday — all rose together — a 
phalanx of freemen, to testify " their sincere sym- 
pathy" in the efforts and objects of American 
abolitionists. 

After the congregation had resumed their scats, 
the worthy Chairman addressed us briefly in 
behalf of the congregation, saying, that it was 
incumbent on him to convey to us the unanimous 
expression of sympathy on the part of this nu- 
merous assembly in the object of our visit to the 
island. We might regard it as an unfeigned as- 
surance that we were welcomed among them, and 
that the cause which we were laboring to promote 
was dear to the hearts of the people of Antigua. ' 

This was the testimonial of an assembly, many 
of whom, only three years before, were themselves 
slaveholders. It was not given at a meeting 
specially concerted and called for the purpose, but 
grew up unexpectedly and spontaneously out of 
the feelings of the occasion, a free-will offering, 
the cheerful impulsive gush of /ree sympathies. 
We returned our acknowledgments in the best 
manner that our excited emotions permitted. 

LAYING THE CORNER STONE OF A WESLEYAN CHAPEL. 

The corner stone of a new Wesleyan Chapel 
was laid in St. John's, during the district meeting. 
The concourse of spectators was immense. At 
eleven o'clock religious exercises were held in the 
old chapel. At the close of the service a proces- 
sion was formed, composed of Wesleyan mis- 
sionaries, Moravian ministers, clergymen of the 
church, members of the council and of the assem- 
bly, planters, merchants, and other gentlemen, 
and the children of the Sunday and infant schools, 
connected with the Wesleyan Chapel. 

As the procession moved to the new site, a 
hymn was sung, in which the whole procession 
united Our position in the procession, to which 
we were assigned by the marshal, and much to 
our satisfaction, was at either side of two colored 
gentlemen, with whom we walked, four abreast. 

On ono side of the foundation a gallery had 
been raised, whicli was covered with an awning, 
and was occupied by a dense mass of white and 
colored ladies. On another side the gentlemen 
of the procession stood. The other sides were 
thronged with a promiscuous multitude of all 
colors. After singing and prayer, the Hon. 
Nicholas Nugent, speaker of the house of assem- 
bly, descended from the platform by a flight of 
stairs into the cellar^ escorted by tM'o mission- 
aries. The sealed phial was then placed in his 
hand, and Mr. P., a Wesleyan missionary, read 
from a paper the inscription written on the parch- 
ment within the phial. The closing words of 
the inscription alluded to the present condition of 
the island, thus : " The demand for a new and 
larger place of worship was pressing, and the 
progress of public liberality advancing on a 



«4 



ANTIGUA. 



scale I/ighly creditable to this free, enlightened, 
and evangelizfd colony." The Speaker then 
placed the phial in the cavity of the rock. When 
It was properly secured, and the corner stone 
lowered down by pullies to its place, he struck 
three blows upon it with a mallet, and then re- 
turned to the platform. The most eager curiosity 
■was exhibited on every side to witness the cere- 
mony. 

At the conclusion of it, several addresses were 
delivered. The speakers were. Rev. Messrs. 
Home and Harvey, and D. B. Garling, Esq. Mr. 
Home, after enumerating several things which 
were deserving of praise, and worthy of imita- 
tion, exclaimed, '■ The grand crowning glory of 
all — that which places Antigua above all her sis- 
ter colonies — was the magnanimous measure of 
the legislature in entirely abolishing slavery."' It 
was estimated that there were more than two thou- 
sand persons assembled on this occasion. The 
order \ Inch prevailed among such a concourse 
was highly creditable to the island. It was plea- 
sing to see the perfect intermixture of colors and 
conditions ; not less so to observe the kindly bear- 
ing of the high toward the lov/.* After the exer- 
cises were finished, the numerous assembly dis- 
persed quietly. Not an instance of drunkenness, 
quarr.-lling, or anger, fell under our notice during 
the day. 



-, . >RKS0tiOTIONS OP THE MISSIONAniES. 

.Toward the close of the district meeting, we re- 
ceived a kind note from the chairman, inviting us 
to attend the meeting, and receive in person, a set 
ot i-esolutions which had been drawn up at our 
request, and signed by all tiie missionaries. At 
the hour appointed, we repaired to the chapel. 
The missionaries all arose as we entered, and 
gave us a brotherly salutation. We were invited 
to take our seats at the right hand of the chair- 
man. He then, in the presence of the meeting, 
read to us the subjoined resolutions; we briefly 
expressed, in behalf of ourselves and our cause, 
the high sense we had of the value of the testi- 
rflony, which the meeting had been pleased to give 
us. The venerable father Home then prayed 
with us, commending our cause to the blessini:: of 
the Head of the church, and ourselves to the pro- 
tection and guidance of our heavenly Father. 
After which we shook hands with the brethren, 
severally, receiving their warmest assurances of 
affectionate regard, and withdrew. 

" Rcsolntum?. passed at the meeting of the IVes- 
lajan Missionaries of the Antigua Hisirict, 
assemhled at St. John^s, Anti£;na, February 
M, 1837. 

1. That the emancipation of the slaves of the 
West Indies, while it was an act of undoulited 
iustice to that oppressed people, has operated most 
favorably in furthering the triumphs of the gospel, 
by removing one prolific source of immerited sus- 
picion of religious teachers, and thus opening a 
door to their more extensive labors and uspfulness 
— by furnishing a greater portion of time for the 
service of the negro, and thus prevpntins; the con- 
tinuance of unavoidable Sabbath desecrations, in 
labor and neglect of the means of grace — and in 
its operation as a stimulus to proprietors and other 
influential gentlemen, to encourage religious clu- 
catiou, and the wide dissemination of the Scrip- 

• Dunn? Mr. Homo's address, wp ohsorvcd Mr. A., a 
planter, si-nd his uinl)rclla to a neiiro man who stood at 
Mic corner-stone, exposed to the sun. 



tures, as an incentive to industiy and good okJer, 

2. That while the above stattmcnis are \nie 
with reference to all the islands, even whereVhe 
system of apprenticeship prevails, they are espe- 
cially applicable to Antigua, where thi> resulismf 
the great measure, of entire freedom, so hunuuieW 
and judiciously granted by the legislature, cannM 
be contemplated without the tnost devout thanks 
givings to Ahnighiy God. '. 

3. That we regard with much gratification, tha 
great diminution among all classes in these isl- 
ands, of the most unchristian prejudice of color 
the total absence of it in the govermncnt and ordi- 
nances of the churches of God, with which we art 
connected, and the prospect of its complete remo- 
val, by the abolition of slavery, by the 'iicrcdsed 
diffusion of general knowledge, and uf 'liat reli 
gion which teaches to "honor aU men," and tc 
love our neighbor as ourselves. "'■'■'''■' 

4. That we cannot but contemplate with much 
humiliation and distress, the existence, air.ung 
professing Christians in A''.ierica, of this partial, 
unseemly, and unchrif.ian system of c«:<-«?, so dis- 
tinctly prohibited in 'ae word of Gcd, and so 
utterly irreconciler.olc with Christian charity. 

5. That regarili'ig slavery as a most inijuslifi- 
able infringeir rit of the rational and inalienable 
rights of me. I. and in its moral consequences, 
(from our ov n personal observation as well as 
other sources,) as one of the greatest curses with 
which the threat Governor of the nations ever suf- 
fered this ■world to be blighted: we cannot but 
deeply r't,rct the connection which so intimately 
exists betv,een the various churches of Christ in 
the United States of America, and this unchris- 
tian system. With much sorrow do we learn that 
the principle of the lawfulness of slavery has been 
defended by some who are ministers of Clirist, 
that so large a proportion of that body in Amer- 
ica, are exerting their influence in favor of the con- 
tinuance of so indefensible and monstrous a sys- 
tem — and that these emotions of sorrow are espe- 
cially occasioned with reference to our own 
d''/iomioation. 

C That while we should deprecate and con- 
dem'i any recourse on the part of the slaves, to 
me'isure'j of rebellion, as an unjustifiable mode of 
ohtaini'ng their freedom, we would most solemnly, 
and f.ffectionately, and imploringly, adjure our 
respected fathers and brethren in America, to en- 
deavor, in every legitimate way, to wipe away 
this reproach from their body, and thus act in 
perfect accordance with the deliberate and record- 
ed sentiments of our venerated founder on this' 
subject, and in harmony with the feelings and 
proceedings of their brethren in the United King- 
dom, who have had the honor to take a distin- 
guished part in awakening such a determined and 
resistless public feeling in that country, as issued 
in the abolition of slavery among 800,000 •)f our 
fellow subjects. 

7. That we hail with the most lively satisfac- 
tion the progress in America of anti-slavery prin- 
ciples, the multiplication of anti-slavery societies, 
and the diffusion of correct views on this subject. 
Wo offer to the noble band of truly patriotic, and 
enlightened, and philanthropic men, who are coin- 
bating in that country with such a frarfid (■^ il, 
the assurance of our Most cordial and fraternal 
sympathy, and our earnest prayers for their com- 
plete success. We view wit!) pity and sorrow 
the vile cahminies with which they have been as- 
sailed. We welcome with Christian joyt'ulncss, 
in the success which has already attended their 



u 



ANTIGUA 



116 



forts, the dawn of a cloudless day of light and 

ory, which shall presently shine upon that vast 

mtinent, when the song of universal freedom 

lall sound in its length and breadth. 

S. That these sentiments have been increased 

id confirmed by the intercourse wiiich some of 

ir body have enjoyed with our beloved brethren. 

a Rev. James A. Thome, and Joseph Horace 

jmball, Esq., the deputation to these islands, 

dm the Anti-Slavery Society in America. We 

^ard this appointment, and the nomination of 

|ch men to fulfil it, as most judicious. We 

,ust we can appreciate the spirit of entire devo- 

edness to this cause, which animates our respect- 

jd brethren, and breathes throughout their whole 

Jeportment, and rejoice in such a manifestation 

of the fruits of that divine charity, which flow 

om the constraining love of Christ, and which 

any waters cannot quench. 

9. That the assurance of the affectionate sym- 

ithy of the twenty-five brethren who compose 

lis district meeting, and our devout wishes for 

leir success in the objects of their mission, are 

ereby presented, in our collective and individual 

ipacity, to our endeared and Christian friends 

•om America. 

(Signed) James Cox, chairman of the district, 
.^nd resident in Antigua. 

Jonathan Cadman, St. Martin's. James Home, 
St. Kitts. Matthew Banks, St. Bartholomew's. 
E. Frazer, Antigua. Charles Bates, do. John 
Keightley, do. Jesse Pilcher, do. Benjamin Tre- 
?askiss, do. Thomas Edwards, St. Kitts. Rob- 
ert Hawkins, Tortola. Thomas Pearson, Nevis, 
■eorge Craft, do. W. S. Waymouth, St. Kitts. 
3hn Hodge. Tortola. William Satchel, Domi- 
ica. John Cullingford, Dominica. J. Cameron, 
evis. B. Gartside, St. Kitts. John Parker, do. 
lilton Cheeseborough, do. Thomas Jetfery, do. 
/lUiam Riggjesworth, Tortola. Daniel Step- 
;y, Nevis. James Walton, Montserrat." 



CHAPTER II. 

GENERAL RESULTS. 

Having given a general outline of our sojourn 
Antigua, we proceed to a more minute account 
the results of our investigations. We arrange 
3 testimony in two general divisions, placing 
It which relates to the past and present condi- 
n of the colony in one, and that which bears 
ectly upon the question of slaveiy in America 
mother. 

RELIGION. 

'here are three denominations of Christians in 
igua : the Established Church, the Moravians 
Wesleyans. The Moravians number fifteen 
isand— almost exclusively negroes. The 
:sleyans embrace three thousand members, and 
ut as many more attendants. Of the three 
isand members, says a Wesleyan missionary, 
It fifty are whites— a larger number are color- 
but the greater part black." " The attend- 
^of^,"e negro population at the churches and 
dels (ot the established order,) says the Rec- 
ot bt. John s, " amounts to four thousand six 
idred and thirty-six." The whole number of 
cks receiving religious instruction from these 
nstian bodies, making allowance for the pro- 
■tion of white and colored included in the three 
■usand Wesleyans, is abont twentv-two thou- 
id— leaving a population of eight thousc.i.d ne- 
>es in Antigua who are unsupplied with reli- 
'US instruction. 



The Established Church has six parish churcheg 
as many " chapels of ease," and nine clergymen" 
The Moravians have five settlements and thirteen 
missionaries. The Wesleyans have seven cha 
pels, with as many more small preaching places 
on estates, and twelve ministers; half of whom 
are itinerant missionaries, and the other half, local 
preachers, employed as planters, or in mercantile, 
and other pursuits, and preaching only occasional- 
ly. From the limited number of chapels and 
missionaries, it may be inferred that only a por- 
tion of the twenty-two thousand can enjoy stated 
weekly instruction. The superintendent of the 
Moravian mission, stated that their chapels could 
not accommodate more than one third of their 
members. 

Each of the denominations complains of the 
lack of men and houses. The Wesleyans are 
now building a large chapel in St. John's. It 
will accommodate two thousand persons. " Be- 
sides free sittings, there will be nearly two hundred 
pews, every one of which is now in demand." 

However much disposed the churches of dif- 
ferent denominations might have been during sla-, . 
very to maintain a strict discipline, they found Uj 
exceedingly diflrcult to do so. It seems impossi-,,-j 
ble to elevate a body of slaves, lemaining sv^ch, top 
honesty and purity. The reckings of slavery will 
almost inevitably taint the institutions of religion, 
and degrade the standard of piety. Accordingly 
the ministers of every denomination in Antigua, 
feel that in the abolition of slavery their greatest 
enemy has been vanquished, and they now evince 
a determination to assume higher ground than 
they ever aspired to during the reign of slavery. 
The motto of all creeds is, " We expect great 
things of freemen." A report which we obtained 
from the Wesleyan brethren, states, " Our own 
brethren preach almost daily." " We think the 
negroes are uncommonly punctual and regular in 
their attendance upon divine worship, particularly 
on the Sabbath." " They always show a readi- 
ness to contribute to the support of the gospel. 
With the present low wages, and the entire charge 
of self-maintenance, they have little to spare. 
Parham and Sion Hill (taken as specimens) have 
societies almost entirely composed of rural blacks 
— about thirteen hundred and fifty in number. 
These have contributed this year above X330 ster- 
ling, or sixteen hundred and fifty dollars, in little 
weekly subscriptions; besides giving to specisJ 
objects occasionally, and contributing for the sup- 
port of schools.* 

In a letter dated December 2d, 1834, but four 
months after emancipation, and addressed to the 
inissionary board in England, the Rev. B. Harvey 
thus speaks of the Moravian missions : " With 
respect to our people, I believe I may say that in 
ail our places here, they attend the meetings of the 
church more numerously than ever, and that many 
are now in frequent attendance wlio could very 
seldom appear amongst us during slavery." The 
same statements substantially were made to us by • 
Mr. H., showing that instead of any falling oflT 
the attendance was still on the increase. 

In a statement drawn up at our request by the 
Rector of St. John's, is the followiue: " Cases of 
discipline are more frequent than is usual in Eng- 
lish congregations, but at the same time it should 
be observed, that a closer oversight is maintained 
' Tlic snperintenclenf of tlie Weslcvan mission informed 
p ti:a', the coUccthT.) m i:!- .several V>'c-l,-yan chp.pels 
last year, independent of occasional contributions to Sun 
day sctiools. Missionary objects, Ac., amounted to £8Sfi 
sterang, or more than S4000! 



f6 



ANTIGUA. 



by the ministers, and a greater readiness to siibmit 
themselves (to discipline) is manifested by the late 
slaves here than by those who have always been 
a free people." " I am able to speak very favor- 
ahlv of the attendance at church — it is regular 
ana cru wiled." "The negroes on some estates 
have been known to contribute willingly to the 
Bible Society, since 1832. They are now begin- 
ning to pay a penny and a half currency per week 
for their children's instruction." 

MORALITY. 

The condition of Antigua, but a very few years 
previous to emancipation, is represented to have 
been truly revolting. It has already been stated 
that the Sabbath was the market day up to 1832, 
and this is evidence enough that the Lord's day 
was utterly desecrated by the mass of the popula- 
tion. Now there are few parts of our own coun- 
try, equal in population, which can vie with An- 
tigua in the solemn and respectful observance of 
the Sabbath. Christians in St. John's spoke with 
jn t' id gratitude of the tranquillity of the Sab- 
bath. They had long been shocked with its open 
and abounding profanation — until they had well- 
nigh forgot the aspect of a Christian Sabbath. At 
length the full-orbed blessing beamed upon them, 
and they rejoiced in its brightness, and thanked 
God for its holy repose. 

All persons of all professions testify to the fact 
theii marriages are rapidly increasing. In truth, 
there was scarcely such a thing as marriage before 
the abolition of slavery. Promiscuous intercourse 
of the sexes was almost universal. In a report of 
the Antigua Branch Association of the Society 
for advancing the Christian Faith in the British 
West Indies, (for 1836,) the following statements 
are made : 

" The number of marriages in the six parishes 
of the island, in the year 1835, the first entire 
year of freedom, was 476 ; all of which, excepting 
about 50, were between persons formerly slaves. 
The total number of marriages between slaves 
solemnized in the Church during the nine years 
ending December 31, 1832, was 157; in 1833, the 
last entire year of slavery, it was 61." 

Thus it appears that the whole number of mar- 
riages during ten years previous to emancipation 
(by far the most fovorable ten years that could 
have been selected) was bui half as great as the 
number for a single year following emancipation ! 

The Governor, in one of our earliest interviews 
with him, said, " the great crime of this island, 
as indeed of all the West India Colonies, has 
been licentiousness, but we are certainly fast im- 
proving in this particular." An aged Christian, 
who has spent many years in the island, and is 
now actively engaged in superintending several 
day schools for the negro children, informed us 
that there was not one third as much concubinage 
as formerly. This he said was owing mainly to 
the greater frequency of marriages, and the cessa- 
tion of late night work on the estates, and in the 
boiling houses, by which the females were con- 
stantly exposed during slavery. Now they may 
all be in their houses by dttrk. Formerly the mo- 
thers vvere the, betrayers of their daughters, en- 
couraging them to form unhallowed connections, 
and even seUmg them to licentious white and co- 
lored men, for their own gain. Now they were 
using great strictness, to preserve the chastity of 
their daughters. i 

A worthy planter, who has been in the island 
since 1800, stated, that it used to be a common 
^Ti<ctii./> for mothers to sell their da-ugkiers to the 



highest bidder! — generally a manager or ove. | 
seer. But now," said iie, " the mothers hold then j 
daughters up for marriage, and take pains to \c 
every body know that their virtue is not to bt 
bought and sold any longer." He alsostat'>d thai j 
those who live unmarried now are uniformly ce- 
glected and suffer great deprivations. Faith fal- 
ness after marriage, exists also to a greater exteht 
than could have been expected from the utter loose- 
ness to which they had been previously accustonv 
ed, and with their ignorance oi tiic i-.a*"'"" ani 
obligations of the marriage relation. We were ni- 
formed both by the missionaries and the planters, 
that every year and month they are becoming 
more constant, as husband and wife, more faithful 
as parents, and more dutiful as children. One 
planter said that out of a number who left his em- 
ploy after 1834, nearly all had companions on 
other estates, and left for the purpose of being with', 
them. He was also of the ojnnion that the' great-. 
er proportion of changes of residence among the, 
emancipated which took place at that time, were , 
owing to the same cause.* In an address before ; 
ti'e Friendly Society in St. John's, the Archdeacon i 
slated that duringthe previous year (1835) several 
individuals had been expelled from that society^! 
for domestic unfaithfulness ; but he was happy to,! 
say that He had not heard of a single instance of . 
expulsion for this cause during the year then end-; 
ed. Much inconvenience is felt on account of thov 
Moravian and Wesleyan missionaries being pro- 
hibited from performing the marriage service, even 
for their own people. Efforts are now making to . 
obtain the repeal of the law which makes marri- ; 
ages performed by sectarians (as all save the estab-'j 
lished church are called) void. ^ 

That form of licentiousness which appears , 
among the higher classes in every slaveholdingi) 
country, abounded in Antigua during the reign ol'J 
slavery. It has yielded its redundant fruits in a 
population of four thousand colored people ; double jt 
the number of whites. The planters, with but fewS? 
exceptions, were unmarried and licentious. Noi \ 
was this vice confined to the unmarried. Men",' 
with large families, kept one or more mistresses ;. 
without any effort at concealment. We were '; 
told of an " Honorable" gentleman, who had his ' 
English wife and two concubines, a colored and a 
black one. The governor himself stated as an 
apology for the prevalence of licentiousness among 
the slaves, that the example was set them con-3 
stantly by their masters, and it was not to be ' 
wondered at if they copied after their superiors, '( 
But it is now plain that concubinage among the>.' 
whites is nearly at an end. An unguarded state-'> 
ment of a public man revealed the conviction ; 
which e'xists among his class that concubinage : 
must soon cease. He said that the jn'esent race 
of colored people could not be received into the 
society of the whites, because of illegitimacy ; but 
the next generation would be fit associates for the,n 
whites, because they would be chicjly born imced- ' 
lock. 

The uniform testimony respecting intemperance ,,. 
was, that it never had, been one of the vices of the j 
negroes. Several planters declared that they had 
rarely seen a black person intoxicated. The re- \ 
port of the Wesleyan missionaries already referred .■■ 
to, says, " Intemperance is most uncommon among- 

* What a resurrection to domestic life was tliat, when '' 
lontr severed families lloclied i'rocD the four corners of' 
the i?land to niPet tlieir kindred UiPniliers! A.nd wliat a' 
glorious resurrection will tliat be in our own '■ouiiliy, 
when the millions of emancipated beings scat^ei"J over ' 
the west and south, shall seek the embraces of ^rental 
an(i frateiTiaU a"5f1 c ..i^.'iij teve 



ANTIGUA. „ 

,e rural nea;i-oes. Many have joined the Tern- Years. Colonies Supplied, Bibles Test's 

e.-„:eSociety and many act on tee-total prin- 1823 Ancruilla o/ ,1^ 

.' The only ..;.r..Z person (cither blak or 2.3 De.^a U ^?« 

,1 1 1>) whom we saw drunk diu-in» ;i residence 04 n„ ^^ ^^ 

.f;.u,e\veeks in Antigua, was a carpenter tst i' Mom ennt g ?5J 

^oiuva, who as he reeled by, stared in our fl.ccs 27 Wevis ^q if^ 

md mumbled out his sentence of condemnation 32 Saba a Z 

igainsi wine bibbers,-" Gemmen-you sees I'se 33 St Bai't's n 1 J 

I httle bit crunk, but 'pon honor 'l only took 34 S ' Eu atius* ■' " ^ "l : ' •; \U 1$^ 

hfth-ree bottles of wme- that's all." It was 35 St Kits """po- ]i^ 

jhnstmas tmies," and doubtless the poor man g ' j&I^ ';„; ^f ' "^^i ' 

liught he wou d venture for once in the year to 36 To no la S lo/- 

*y the example of the whites. To 18^7 T^-IIa a ^r ^^^ 

f n conclusion, on the subject of morals in An- ^"""^'^ '^^ ^7 

tua, we are warranted in stating, 1st., That Total Q-?n ~^ 

|';.^i?^^he continuance of slavery, immoralities lotal.... 920 x5yb 

■'M T-'i » ^1 -, ^ From the last annual report we auote thp fnl 

ymen and missionaries, teachers and catpchists, casion of the emancipation Jf the slave7and ?L 

improve the character of the slaves, tailed ,0 perpetual banishme 1^0^ atry fron^ the sho^s 

hVt,T7 °^ ^''^V^"d profligacy. What of Antigua, on the first of Auo-us^t im by wh ch 

i i niT? ^'"' '^''''^ '''''' ^^'-y P'''-^'< '' «1^°'«^ P°'-^i«n of the Hol/Scr'i, tire; wa^^ a 

t .T/1 fi ? enormous immoralities as shame^ tnitously circulated to about^one thi d of ?t in" ^ 

.s and dcfian as ever, up to the very day of abo- habitants of this colony. N^ e 1 ousand tven • 

Z;J7^?''T'f^ ''' ""''■ '™Potence of all hundred copies of the ^ew Sb e ImnSto 

tempts^ to purify the slreans while the /..,•..«.-. gether with'the book of Psalms, werrthus^tS 

kd Tl-f tlo 1 r." ^ , at the disposal of your committee." '-^t 

ath blow to otn vf °^ slavery gave the * * * " Following hard upon this joyful 

edasit^^Sbeconlf 'r''"^^°''" ""'^ '?™^"''^- '^'"'' ^"°'^''^- S^'i^yi"? circumstance occurred 

stead of t- • ?^ ? Immediate emancipation, among us. The attentionof the people was rousS 

wpr c, ^ ' '^ flood-gates, was the only and their gratitude excited towirds the Bible s" 

.red tl Zf r°"^? '° ''^"^ '^•^™ ^°^^'" ' ^^ '•^- ''''y' ^"d ^l^^^y ^^i^° had freely received now free v 

he tSZ rlinuT "^°l?o"'^'' ^'",' '"PP^:- ^''^' "^.'^ ^^"".^ considerable sum of money w^ 

^nfmn..i ! 7^ T liose great control- presented to the parent society in acknow-led^- 

d i? , r '"'''''''' ''f'-'f.^^t, attachmoil to law, ment of its beneficent grant." ^ ^ 

J^^^ZZ£:li:::^'t:^^''''yr'^i , ^^Jr^'""' ''^" ^^^'^^^ *™- ^^e annual report 

nil nhonf ,1! ^"^"^'^W'^'^'' '^nd now they stand for 1826. Its sentiments contrast stron-lv with 

e^inlf emancipated with flaming swords the congratulations of the last Teport u ?on ' t h p 

r ^fo3''';""'^'7^*='^'^T"-^^°-«ex- joyful eLn' of emancipation "^^P"'' "'^«" '^'' 

ser form?nf 'Jj^ explicit y affirmed that the " Another question of considerable delicacy and 

«t?J^ ^^'"■^'' y' ''^'^"^'^ in every coun- importance still remains to be discussed if it 

•unk hioTnn "^r'^' ^'V' '" ^"'^g"^ ^i'her advisable, under all the circumstanee" of Uie eas 

unk into concealment or become extinct. to circulate the Holy Scriptures, Shout note ot' 

B...VO... .™.o.. sp: s^&^t£xerrhStS 

VVe insert here a brief account of the benevo J" f.^r^ing that such a measure is not merely ex- 
t institutions of Antigua. Our design in ffivino- C., '™'' but one of almost indispensable necessity 
IS to show the effect of freedom in brinp-ino- into P^ ^'^*^''^'^ Volume is in many respects peculiarly 
y those chanties of social life, which" slavery "'^^P'ed to the slave. It t;nj6ins upon him pre- 
tormly stifles. Antigua abounds in benevo ^''^'^ ^° P'''""' ^'^^"^ *e most ignorant cannot foil 
t societies, all of which have been materiallv ^° understand them : ' Slaves, obey in all things 
wed since emancipation, and some of then y°"'' ™=Jsters, not with eye service, as men pleaV/ 
.'e been tormed since that event. ers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God ' It " 

ftirmshes him with motives the most'impressivo 
THE BIBLE SOCIETY. and consohng : ' Ye serve,' says the Aposfle, ' tho 

rhis IS the oldest society in the island It wa= ♦ , t. irist.' It promises him rewards suflirient'^-' 
;anized in 1815. All denominat ons n Iho '"'''"^"'^'Vhe most indolent to exertion :' What^« 
md cordially unite in this cause The nrinei f ' ?°°'i /^?'"? «ny "^^n doeth, the same shall U 

des.-n of this society is to promote the e.e^' f T^T^i 'I''^ ^°''^' ^''^ether he be bond or free "'^ 

on of the Scriptures among the Sorin ' non , ,1 t' ^'°'t. ^"^'"^ 1*^ ^'"^ ^" ^^^"'P'e «° .-'""ous, 'd 
on ot the island. To secure this iTecUiE " '|^: / , ^^""'d /"noble ^n angels to imitate it '« 
: branch associations-amountino--^ to nX L^^'h^^^'^d be in yofcich was also in Christ ' 

Sr-have been organized throu.-hout the ?shnH ^T' \ """^^ hims^of no reputation, and 
ong the negroes themselves The societ; ""}' "P°", ^"™ ''^" *°'™ of a dare ." • ■ ' 

n enabled not only to circulate the Sci intnre! • ""^ ^''''7 }''' P'^P"' '» observe, that the pre- '« 

ong the people of^Antigua. 1 ut o send em n T T'%' ° r'¥ ^^°'^' ^''^'^''^ ''" ?^"eMl through- '^I 

;ns.velytotheneighborfngis nds ''"'* ^''""^ °"^ V" F"-^'''' ^'^le is translated servant^ 13^'' 

^he f:'!n,ving- ,al,l. , dr...M, up at our rer^u-=s' Z "^ '^'' '"^''-"^ ^^' ^'''' ^^^'^"^d it in the 

Uie Secretary of tiie Society, wil show thlpv^ ?-'■ ?o,n<, quot.t.o,.,. (') -.d scv ifnd r.L„< d, Jie 

of foreign operations ; ^' *''"^ ^''^ ^^- ^.^^'"^'^ ^^ "^e will be found to hold out to our 

. ., . Slaves, both by precept and example. tU ^ .^t 



ANTIGUA. 



I nail [bar; 

persuasive anl the most compelling motives to in- 
dustry, obedience, and submission." 

Nothing could more plainly shov/ the corrupt- 
ing influences of slavery, upon all within its reach, 
than this spectacle of a noble, religious institution, 
prostituted to the vile work of defending oppres- 
sion, and, in the zeal of its advocacy, blasphem- 
ously degrading the Savior into a self-made slave ! 
. The receipts of the Antigua Branch Society 
have greatly increased since emancipation. From 
receipts for the year 1836, in each of the British 
islands, it appears that the contributions from 
Antigua and Bermuda, the only two islands which 
adopted entire emancipation, are about double 
those from any other two islands. 

MISSIONARY ASSOCIATIONS. 

These associations are connected with the Wes- 
leyan mission, and have been in existence since 
1820. Their object is to raise funds for the parent 
society in England. Although it has been in ex- 
istence for several years, yet it was mostly con- 
fined to the whites and free people of color, during 
slavery. The calling together assemblies of rural 
negroes, and addressing them on the subject of 
rnissions, and soliciting contributions in aid of the 
cause, is a new feature in the missionary opera- 
tions to which nothing but freedom could give 
birth. . 

b97i9d319-' TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 

The first temperance society in Antigua was 
formed at the beginning of 1836. We give an 
extract from the first annual report : " Tempe- 
rarrce societies have been formed in each town, 
and on many of the estates. A large number of 
persons who once used spirituous liquors mode- 
rately, have entirely relinquished the use. Some 
who wei-e once intemperate have been reclaimed, 
and in some instances an adoption of the princi- 
ples of the temperance society, has been followed 
by the pursuit and enjoyment of vital religion. 
Domestic peace and quietness have superseded 
discord and strife, and a very general sense of 
astonishment at the gross delusion which these 
drinks have long produced on the human species 
is manifest. 

" The numbers on the various books of the so- 
ciety amount to about 1700. One pleasing feature 
in their history, is the very small number of those 
who have violated their pledge. 

" On several estates, the usual allowance of 
spirits has been discontinued, and sugar or mo- 
lasses substituted." 

The temperance society in Antigua may be 
specially regarded as a result of emancipation. 
It is one of the guardian angels which hastened to 
the island as soon as the demon of slavery was 
cast out. 

FRIENDLY SOCIETIES. 

The friendly societies are designed exclusively 
for the benefit of the njjgro population. The 
general object is thus j^ffitted in the constitution 
of one of these societies? " The object of this 
society is to assist in the' purchase of articles of 
mourning for the dead ; to give relief in cases of 
unlooked for distress ; to help those who through 
age or infirmities are incapable of helping them- 
selves by marketing, or working their grounds ; 
to encourage sobriety and induslry, and to check 
disorderly and immoral conduct." 

These societies obtain their funds by laying a 
tax of on«> shilling per month on every member 



above eighteen years of age, and of six pence pei 
month on all members vmder that age and above 
twelve, which is the minimum of membership. 
The aged members are required to pay no mors 
than the sum last mentioned. 

The first society of this kind was established in 
St. John's by the present rector, in 1829. Sub^- 
quently the Moravians and Wesleyans formeid 
similar societies among their own people. Inde-' 
pendent of the pecuniary assistance which thes€! 
societies bestow, they encourage in a variety ol 
ways the good order of the community. For ex-i 
ample, no one is allowed to receive assistance who 
is " disabled by drunkenness, debauchery, or dis- 
orderly living;" also, " if any member of the so- 
ciety, male or female, is guilty of adultery or for- 
nication, the offending member shall be suspended 
for so long a time as the members shall see fit, and 
shall lose all claim on the society for any benefit 
during the suspension, and shall not be re admit- 
ted until clear and satisfactory evidence is given oi 
penitence." Furthermore, " If any member of th^ 
society shall be expelled from the church to wliicl^ 
he or she belongs, or shall commit any oft'encS 
punishable by a magistrate, that member forfeitji 
his membership in the society." Again, the societ 
ty directly encourages marriage, by " making a 
present of a young pig to every child horn in 
wedlock, and according as their funds will admit 
of it, giving rewards to those married persons 
living faithfully, or single persons living virtuous- 
ly, who take a pride in keeping their houses nea( 
and tidy, and their gardens flourishing." 

These societies have been more than doubled, 
both in the number of members and in the annual 
receipts, since emancipation. i 

Of the societies connected with the establish© 
church, the rector of St. John's thus speaks: " .A 
the beginning of 1834 there were eleven societiei 
embracing 1602 members. At the beginning ( 
1835 they numbered 4197 ; and in 1836 there wei 
4560 members," almost quadrvfled in tico years\ 

The societies connected with the Moravia 
church, have more than doubled, both in member 
and funds, since emancipation. The funds no\ 
amount to $10,000 per year. 

The Wesleyans have four Friendly societies 
The largest society, which contained six hundre;| 
and fifty members, was organized in the month ,i 
August, 1834. The last year it had expendt| 
£700 currency, and had then in its treasury £6' If 
currency. 

Now, be it remembered that the Friendly soc 
ties exist solely among the freed negroes, a 
that the moneys are raised exclusively amo 
them. Among whom 1 A people who are s. 
to be so proverbially improvident, that to eman 
pate them, would be to abandon them to begga 
nakedness, and starvation ; — a people who " c; 
not take care of themselves ;" who " will 
work when freed from the fear of the lash ;" m 
" would squander the earnings of the day in 
baucheries at night ;" who " would never prov 
for to-morrow for tiie wants of a family, or 
the infirmities of old age." Yea, among nego 
these things are done ;" and that, too, where 
wages are but one shilling per day — less tl 
sufilcient, one would reasonably suppose, to f 
vide daily food. 

DAILY MEAL SOCIETY. 

The main object of this society is denoted 
its name. It supplies a daily meal to those y 
are otherwise unprovided for. A commodi 



1 



ANTIGUA. 



i)use had just been completed in the suburbs of 
e town, capable of lodging a considerable num- 
■r of beneficiaries. It is designed to shelter those 
ho are diseased, and cannot walk to and fro for 
eir meals. The number now fed at this house 
from eighty to a Jiundred. The diseased, who 
e at the dispensary, are mostly those who are 
licted with the elephantiasis, by whicli they are 
.idered entirely helpless. iVIedical aid is sup- 
ed free of expense. It is worthy of remark, 
.t there is no public poor-house in Antigua, — a 
■of of the industry and prosperity of the eman- 
ated people. 

DISTRESSED FEMALEs' FRIEND SOCIETY. 

This is a society in St. John's : there is also a 
liar one, called tho Female Refuge Society, at 
jiish Harbor. Both these societies were est'ab- 
ed and are conducted by colored ladies. They 
designed to promote two objects: the support 
iestitute aged females of color, and the rescue 
oor young colored females from vice. The ne- 
. ;ity for special efforts for the first object, arose 
• of the fact, that the colored people were allowed 
parochial aid whatever, though they were re- 
red to pay their parochial taxes ; hence, the sup- 
•t of their own poor devolved upon themselves. 
le demand for vigorous action in behalf of the 
ang, grew out of the prevailing licentiousness 
slave-holding times. 

The society in St. John's has been in existence 
ce 1815. It has a large and commodious asy- 
n, and an annual income, by subscriptions of 
.50, currency. This society, and the Female 
fuge Society established at English Harbor, 
ve been instrumental in effecting a great reform 
the morals of females, and particularly in ex- 
mg reprobation against that horrid traflic— the 
e of girls by their mothers for purposes of lust, 
e were told of a number of cases in which the 
;iety in St. John's had rescued young females 
m impending ruin. Many members of the 
uety itself, look to it as the guardian of their 
)hanage. . Among other cases related to us. 
s that of a lovely girl of fifteen, who was bar- 
id away to a planter by her mother, a disso- 
; woman. The planter was to give her a 
intity of cloth to the value of £80 currency, 
I two young slaves ; he was also to give the 
ndmother, for her interest in the girl, one gal- 
of ruml The night was appointed, and a 
■ in waiting to take away the victim, when a 
iiale friend was made acquainted with the plot, 
: in time to save the girl by removing her to 
own house. The mother was infuriated, and 
eavored to get her back, but the ^irl had occa- 
lally attended a Sabbath school, where she 
)ibed principles which forbade her to yield 
n to her mother for such an unhallowed pur- 
e. She was taken before a magistrate, and 
entured herself to a milliner for two yeaff 
e mother made an attempt to regain her, and 
3 assisted by some whites with money tc com- 
ice a suit for that purpose. The lady who 
jnded her was accordingly prosecuted, and the 
Die case became notorious. The prosecutors 
•e foiled. At the close of her apprenticeship, 
young woman was married to a highly re- 
ntable colored gentleman, now resident in St. 
n s. The notoriety which was given to the 
ve case had a happy effect. It brought the 
ety and its object more fully before the public 
the contributions for its support greatly in- 
sed. Those for whose benefit the asylum : 



was opened, heard of it, and came begging to be 
received. 

This society is a signal evidence that the color- 
ed people neither lack the ability to devise, nor the 
hearts to cherish, nor the zeal to execute plans of 
enlarged benevolence and mercy. 

The Juvenile Association, too, of which we 
gave some account in describing its anniversary, 
originated with the colored people, and furnishes 
additional evidence oJ' the talents a«d charities of 
that class of the community. Besides the socie- 
ties already enumerated, there are two associations 
connected with the Established Church, ccHled the 
" Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowl- 
edge," and the " Branch Association of the Soci- 
ety for Advancing the Christian Faith in the Brit- 
ish West Indies, &c." These societies are also 
designed chiefly for the benefit of the negro popu- 
lation. % 

EDUCATION. 

Our inquiries under this head were directed to 
three principal points— first. The exTfent to which 
education prevailed previous to emancipation; 
second, The improvements introduced sii»e --and 
third, The comparative capacity of negroes'for 
receiving instruction. ' ' '''-'CS'iu 

Being providentially in the island at the season 
of the year when all the schools have their annual 
examinations, we enjoyed the most favorable op- 
portunities for procuring intelligence on the subject 
of education. Froij^ various quarters we riteived 
invitations to attend school examinations. We 
visited the schools at Parham, Willoughby Bay 
Newfield, Cedar Hall, Grace Bay, Fitch's Creek' 
and others : besides visiting the parochial sc^ol' 
the rectory school, the Moravian and WeslParl 
schools, in St. John's. All the schools, save those 
in St. John's, were almost exclusively composed 
of emancipated children from the estates. 

VISIT TO THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOL. 

At the invitation of the Governor, w§ accompa- 
nied him to the annual examination of the paro- 
chial school, in St. John's, under the superinten 
dance of the Episcopal church. It has increased 
greatly, both in scholars and efficiency, since eman- 
cipation, and contributions are made to its sup- 
poii by the parents whose children receive its ben- 
efits. We found one hundred and fifty cliildren, 
of both sexes, assembled in the society's^rooms! 
There was every color present, from the deepest 
hue of the Ethiopian, to the faintest shadowing of 
brown. , 

The boys constituting the first class, to* the 
number of fifty, were'iialled up. They read with 
much fluency and distinctness, equalling white 
boys of the same age anywhere. After reading, 
various questions were put to them by the Arch- 
deacon, which they answered with promptness 
and accuracy. Words were promiscuously se- 
lected from the chapter they had Mad, and every 
one was promptly spelled. The*catechism was 
the next^xercise, and they manifested a thorough 
acquaintance with its«guents. ^ 

Our attention wasp^^^larly called td iht ex-i 
amination in arithmetMRviany of th^ children-' 
solved questions readil^n the comptjhnd rules," 
and several of them in Practice, giving the differ- 
ent parts of the pound, shilling, and penny, used 
in that rule, and all the whys and wherefores of 
the thing, with great promptness. One lad, only 
ten years of age, whose attendance had been very 
irregular on account of being employed in learn- 
ing a trade, performed intricate examples in Prac- 



oO 



ANTIGUA. 



tice, Avith a facility worthy the counting-house 
desk. We put several inquiries on different parts 
of the process, in order to test their real knowl- 
edge, to which we always received clear answers. 

The girls were then examined in the same 
studies and exercises, except arithmetic, and dis- 
played the same gratifying proficiency. They 
also presented specimens of nc-jdlework and straw- 
braiding, whicli tlie ladies, on whose lietter judg- 
ment we depend, pronounced very creditable. 
We noticed several girls much older than the oth- 
ers, who had made much less advance in their 
studies, and on mquiry learned, that they had 
been members of the school but a short tim;:, hav- 
ing formerly been employed to wield the heavy hoe 
in tke cane field. The parents are very desirous 
to give their children education, and make many 
sa^ifices for that purpose. Manj'^ who are field- 
laborers in the country, receiving their shilling a 
day, have sent their children to reside with some 
relations or friends in town, for the purpose of 
giving them the benefits of this school. Several 
such cl^ldren were pointed out to us. The in- 
crease'df fefnale scholars during the first year of 
emancipation, was in this school alone, about 
eighty. 

s^For our gratification, the Governor requested 
that all the children emancipated on the^V.?^ of 
August,, might be called up and placed on our side 
of the room. Nearly one hundred children, of 
both sexes, who two years ago were slaves, now 
stood up before us free. We noticed one little girl 
among the rest, about ten years old, who bore not 
the least tinge of color. Her hair was straight and 
light, and her face had that mingling of vermilion 
and white, which Americans seem to consider, not 
only the nonpareil st:uidard of beauty, but the 
immaculate test of human rights. At lier side 
was another with the deepest hue of the native 
African. There were high emotions on the coun- 
tenances of those redeemed ones, when we spoke 
to them of emancipation. The undying principle 
of freedom living and burning in the soul of the 
most degraded slave, like lamps amid the darkness 
of eastern sepulchres, was kindling up brilliantly 
within them, young as they were, and flashing in 
smiles upon their ebon faces. 

The. Governor made a few remarks, in which 
he gave some gooiadvice, and expressed himself 
highly pleased with the appearance and profi- 
ciency of the school. 

His excellency remarked to us in a tone of pleas- 
antry, " You see, gentlemen, these children have 
souls." 

During the progi-ess of the examination, he 
said to us, " You perceive that it is our policy to 
give these children every chance to make men of 
themselves. We look upon them as our future 
citizens." He had no doubt that the rising gene- 
ration would assume a position in society above 
the contempt or opposition of the whites. 

INFANT SCHOOLSa^HE COUNTRY. 

We had the pleasiuj^Hf attending one of the 
infant schools in the ''^Bjty of Parham, on the 
east side of the island.^^aVing been invited by 
a planter, who kindly sent his horse and carriage 
for our conveyance, to call and take breakfast wi^h 
him on our way, we drove out early in the morn- 
ing. 

While we were walking about the estate, our 
attention was arrested by distant singing. As 
we cast our eyes up a road crossing the estate, we 
discovered a party of children ! They were about 
twenty in number, and were marching hand in 



-i 



hand to the music of their infant voices. Tl 
were children from a neighboring estate, on tVl' 
way to the examination at Parham, and w ' 
singing the hymns which they had learned'' 
school. All had their Testaments in their han" 
and seemed right merry-hearted. 

We were received at the gate of the chapel 
the Wesleyan missionary located in this distric 
highly respectable and intelligent colored m 
who was ten years since a slave. He gave u: 
cordial welcome, and conducted us to the chaj 
where we found the children, to the number of J 
Mrndred, asseml^Ied, and the examination aire: 
commenced. Tl.ere were six schools present, r 
resenting about twenty estates, and arranj 
under their respective teachers. The ages of' 
pupils were from three to ten or twelve. TI 
were all, with the exception of two or three 
children of emancipated slaves. 

They came up by classes to the superintendei 
desk, where they read and were examined. Tl 
read correctly; some of them too, who had b' 
in school only a few months, in any portion of 
New Testament selected for them. By request 
the superintendent, we put several inquiries to tl 
which they answered in a way which shoM 
that they thought. They manifested an acquai' 
ance with the Bible and the use of langui 
which was truly surprising. It was delighlfu 
sec so many tiny beings stand around you, drg 
ed in their tidy gowns and frocks, with their bri(i 
morning faces, and read with the self-compos 
of manhood, any passage chosen for them. Tl 
all, large and small, bore in their hands th.e chai 
of their freedom, the book by the influence 
which they received all the privileges they w 
enjoying. On the cover of each was stamped 
large capitals — " Presented by the British a 
Foreign Bible Socn-;Ty, in commemoration 
THE First of Aogust, 1834." 

At the close of the examination, the rewar 
consisting of books, work-bags, &c. &c., chic 
sent by a society of females in England, were d 
tributed. It was impossible to repress the efij 
vescence of the little expectants. As a little ( 
four years old came up for her reward, the sup 
intendent said to her — " Well, little Becky, w 
do you want 1" " Me wants a bag," said Bed 
"and me wants a pin-cushion, and me wa 
a little book." Becky's desires were lar 
but being a good girl, she was gratified. ( 
casionally the girls were left to choose betweei 
book and a work-bag, and although the bag mil 
be gaudy and tempting, they invariably took 
book. 

The teachers were all but rme blacks, and w 
formerly slaves. They are very devoted a 
faithful, but are ill-qualified for their duties, havi 
ob,tained all the learning they possess in 
Sabbath school. They are all pious, and exerl, 
happy influence on the morals of their pupils. 

The number of scholars has very greatly 
creased since emancipation, and their morals hS|j 
essentially improved. Instances of falsehood a 
theft, which at first were fearfully frequent a 
bold, have much lessened. They oegin to hav 
regard for character. Their sense of right a 
wrong is enlightened, and their power of resisti 
temptation, and adhering to right, manifestly ,, 
creased. 

On the whole, we know not where we ha, 
looked on a more delightful scene. To standi 
front of the pulpit and look around on a multitu| 
of negro children, gathered from the sordid hi 
info which slavery had carried ig-norance and ra 



ANTlGlJA. 



31 



f — to see them coming up, with their teachers 
the same proscribed hue, to hear them read the 
ble, answer with readiness the questions of their 
perintendent, and lift up togetlicr their songs of 
luH praise, andtiieii to remember that two years 

these four hundred children were dates, and 
11 more to remember that in our own country, 
istuig its republicanism and Christian inslitu- 
ps, there are thousands of just such children 
lor the yoke and scourge, in utter heathenism, 

victims of tyrannic laiv or of more tyrannic 
jlic opinion — caused the heart to swell with 
otions unutterable. There were as many intel- 
;nt coLintenances, and as much activity and 
ightliness, as we ever saw among an equal 
liber of children anywhere. The correctness 
their reading, the pertinence of their replies, 

general proofs of talent which they showed 
Dugh all the exercises, evinced that they are 
le inferior to the children of their white oppres- 
s. 
Ifter singing a hymn they all kneeled down, 

1 the school closed with a prayer and benedic- 
1. They continued singing as they retired 
n the house, and long after they had parted on 
ir different ways home, their voices swelled on 

breeze at a distance as the little parties from 
estates chanted on their way the songs of the 
ool room. 

WILLOUGHBY BAY EXAMINATION. 

'hen we entered the school house at Willoughby 
7, which is capable of containing a thousand 
sons, a low murmur, like the notes of prepa- 
on, ran over the multitude. One school came 
ifter we arrived, marching in regular file, with 
r teacher, a negro man, at their head, and their 
ukird bmrer following; next, a sable girl with 
ox of Testaments on her head. The whole 
iber of children was three hundred and fifty. 
: male division was first called out, and march- 
several times around the room, singing and 
sing a regular step. After several rounds, 
' came to a halt, filing off and forming into 
lS four rows deep — in quarter-circle shape. 
■ music still continuing, the girls sallied forth, 
t through the same evolutions, and finally 
led in rows corresponding with those of the 
3, so as to compose with the latter a semicircle, 
he schools were successively examined in spel- 
, reading, writing, cyphering, &c., after the 
ner already detailed. In most respects they 
ved equal proficiency with the children of 
lam ; and in reading the Testament, their 
racy was even greater. In looking over the 
ing, several "incendiary" copies caught our 
• One was, ''^asters, give unto your ser- 
s that which is just and equal." Another, 
/ neglect the cause of my servant, what shall I 
ohen I appear before my Master 1" A few 
•s ago, had children been permitted to wriie at 
one such copy as the above would have ex- 
ed the school, and perchance sent the teacher 
il for sedition. But now, thanks to God ! the 

children of Antigua arc taught liberty from 
Bibles, from their song books, and from their 
books too ; they read of liberty, they sing of it, 

they write of it; they chant to liberty in their 

01 rooms, and they resume the strains on their 
jward way, till every rustling lime-grove, 
waving cane-field, is alive with their notes, 
;very hillock and dell rings with " free" echoes, 
le girls, in their turn, pressed around us with 
v^liest ea§;erness to display their little pieces 



of needle- work. Some had samplers marked with 
letters and devices in vari-colored silk. Others 
showed specimens of stitching; while the littU 
ones held up their rude attempts at hemming 
handkerchiefs, aprons, and so on. 

During the exercises we spoke to several elderly 
women, who were present to witness the scene. 
They were laborers on the estates, but having 
children in the school, they had put on their Sun- 
day dresses, and " come to see." We spoke to one, 
of the privileges which the children were enjoying' 
since freedom. Her eyes filled, and she exclaimed^ 
" Yes, massa, we do tank de good Lord for bring 
de free— never can be too tankful." She said she 
had seven children present, and it made her feel 
happy to know that they were learning to read. 
Another woman said, when she heard the children 
reading so finely, she wanted to " take de word's 
out of da mouts and put em in her own." In the 
morning, when she first entered the school house, 
she felt quite sick, but all the pleasant things she 
saw and heard, had made her well, and she added, 
" I tell you, me massa, it do my old heart good to 
come here." Another aged woman, who had 
grand-children in the school, said, when she sawb 
what advantages the children enjoyed, she almost- 
cried to think she was not a child too. Besides 
these there were a number of adult men and wo- 
men, whom curiosity or parental solicitude had 
brought together, and they were thronging abouto 
the \yindows and doors witnessiuig the various-' 
exet-cises with the deepest interest. Among the 
rest was one old patriarch, who, anxious to bear 
some part however humble in the exercises of the 
occasion, walked to and fro among the children . 
with a six feet pole in his hand, to keep order. \ 

These schools, and those examined at Parham, 
are under the general supervision of Mr. Charles 
Thwaites, an indefatigable and long tried friend 
of the negroes. 

We here insert a valuable communication 
which we received from Mr. T. in reply to seve- 
ral queries addressed to him. It will give further^ 
information relative to the schools. 

Mr. Charles Thwaites' Replies to Queries on Ed":.- 
cation in Antigua. 

1. What has been your business for some years 



past 



in Antigua 1 




A superintendent of schools, and catechist \xA 
the negroes. a 

2. How long have you been engaged in this 
business] . "* 

Twenty-four years. The first four years eri^'' 
gaged gratuitously, ten years employed by the 
Church Missionary Society, and since, by the^ 
Wesleyan Missionary Society. '■> ■ ''R "•-■ -' '; 

3. How many schools have 
charge 1 

Sunday schools, (including all belonging' to tlfe'' 
Wesleyan Missionary Society,) eight, with 1850 
scholars ; day schools.-jgyenteen with 1250 schol- 
ars: night schools (M^enty-six e^tat^, 396 
scholars. The total ni^^kof scholars under in- 
struction is about 3500. «^ 

4. Are the scholars principally the children 
who were emancipated in August, 1^ 1 

Yes, except the children in St. Jojijii's, most of 
whom were free beftjre. ' " ' 

5. Are the teachers negroes, colored, or wliite 1 
One white, four colored, ana sixteen black.* 

This number iacludes only uluied teacbdn. uid 

not the gratuitous. 



32 



ANTIGUA. 



6. How many of the teachers were slaves prior 
to the fiist of August, 18341 

Thirteen. 

7. What were their opportunities for learning 1 
The Sunday and night schools ; and they have 

much improved themselves since they have been 
in their present employment. 

8. What are their qualifications for teaching, 
as to education, religion, zeal, per^;everance, &c. 1 

The white and two of the colored teachers, I 
presume, are well calculated, in all respects, to 
carry on a school in the ablest manner. The 
others are deficient in education, but are zealous, 
and very persevering. 

9. What are the wages of these teachers'! 
The teachers' pay is, some four, and somethioe 

dollars per month. Thin sum is far too small, 
and would be greater if the funds were sufficient. 

10. How and by whom are the expenses of 
superintendent, teachers, and schools defrayed ] 

The superintendent's salary, &c., is paid by 
the Wesleyan Missionary Society. The ex- 
penses of teachers and schools are defrayed by 
charitable societies and friends in England, partic- 
ularly the Negro Education Society, which 
grants 501. sterling per annum towards this ob- 
ject, and pays the rent of the Church Missionary 
Society's premises in Willoughby Bay for use 
of the schools. About 46Z. sterling per annum is 
aiso raised from the children ; each child taught 
writing and needle-work, pays IJd- sterling per 
week.. 

11. Is it your opinion that the negro children 
are as ready to receive instruction as white 
children 1 

Yes, perfectly so. 

12. Do parents manifest interest in the educa- 
tion of their children? 

They do. Some of the parents are, however, 
still very ignorant, and are not aware how much 
their children lose by irregular attendance at the 
schools. 

13. Have there been many instances of theft 
among the scholars 1 

Not more than among any other class of 
children. 

RESULTS. 

Besides an attendance upon the various schools, 
we procured specific infoi-mation from teachers, 
missionaries, planters, and others, with regard to 
the past and present state of education, and the 
weight of testimony was to the following effect : 

First, That education was by no means exten- 
sive previous to emancipation. The testimony 
of one planter was, that not a tenth part of the 
present adult population knew the letters of the 
alphabet. Other planters, and some missionaries, 
thought the proportion might be somewhat 
larger ; but all agreed that it was very small. The 
testimony of thevenerable Mr. Newby, the oldest 
Moravian missionary in the island, was, that 
such was the opposition among the planters, it 
was impossible to teacl^jfe slaves, excepting by 
night, secretly. Mr. "riRRiles informed us that 
the children were not an|),wed to attend day school 
after they were six yeaWold. All the instruction 
they obtained after that age, was got at night — a 
very unsuitable time to study, for those who 
worked all day under an exhausting sun. It is 
manifest that the instruction received under six 
years of age, would soon be effaced by the incessant 
toil of subsequent life. The account given in a 
'fociaei connection of the adult school under the 



charge of Mr. Morrish, at Newfield, shows moi 
clear'y the past inattention to education. An 
yet Mr. M. stated that his school was a fair sp( 
chiien of the intelligence of the negroes generallt 
One more evidence in point is the acknowledge 
ignorance of Mr. Thwaites' teachers. Afte 
searching through the whole freed population to 
a dozen suitable teachers of children, Mr. 1 
could not find even that number who could rcoi 
well. Many children in the schools of six year 
old read better than their teachers. 

We must not be understood to intimate that u 
to the period of the Emancipation, the plante 
utterly prohibited the education of their slave 
Public sentiment had undergone some chang 
previous to that event. When the public opmio 
of England began to be awakened against slavery 
the planters were induced, for peace sake, to tolei 
ate education to some extent ; though they cannc 
be said to have encouraged it untirafter Emanci 
pation. This is the substance of the statemen 
made to us. Hence it appears that when the ai 
tive opposition of the planters to educatio 
ceased, it was succeeded by a general indiffei 
ence, but little less discouraging. We of cours 
speak of the planters as a body ; there were sorr 
honorable exceptions. 

Second, Education has become very extensi 
since emancipation. There are probably not lei 
than six thousand children who now enjoy dai 
instruction. These are of all ages under twelv 
All classes feel an interest in knov:ledge. Whi 
the schools previously established are flourishin 
in newness of life, additional ones are springin 
up in every quarter. Sabbath schools, adult an 
infant schools, day and evening schools, are a 
crowded. A teacher in a Sabbath school in S 
John's informed us, that the increase in thi 
school immediately after emancipation was s( 
sudden and great, that he could compare it t( 
nothing but the rising of the mercury, when tli 
thermometer is removed out of the shade into tJi 
sun. 

We learned that the Bible was the principi 
book taught in all the schools throughout t: 
island. As soon as the children have learned 
read, the Bible is put into their hands. They m 
only read it, but commit to memory portions of 
every day ; — the first lesson in the morning is ai 
examination on some passage of scripture. Wi 
have never seen, even among Sabbath-schoo 
children, a better acquaintance with the charac 
ters and events recorded in the Old and Nei 
Testaments, than among the negro children j . 
Antigua. Those passages which inculcate oK 
dience to law are strongly enforced ; and th- 
prohibitions against stealing, lying, cheating, idh 
ness, &c., are reiterated day and night. 

Great attention is paid to singing in all ti. 
schools. 

The songs which they usually sung, embracei 
such topics as Love to God — the presence of Go( 
— obedience to parents — friendship for brother 
and sisters and schoolmates — love of school— 
the sinfulness of sloth, of lying, and of stealing. 
We quote the following hymn as a specimen ( 
the subjects which are introduced into the; 
songs: often were we greeted with this swe« 
hymn, while visiting thedifferent schools througl 
out the island. 

BROTHERLY LOVE. 
CHORUS. 

We're all brothers, sisters, brothers, 
We're sisters and brothers, 



ANTIGUA. 



33 



And heaven is our home. 
■ We're all brothers, sisters, brothers, 
t We're sisters and brotliers, 

And lieavcii is our liouie. 

Tlic God of heaven is pleased to see 
That little children all agree ; 
And will not slijiht the praise they bring. 
When lo\ in;: children join to sing : 

We're all brothers', sisters, brothers, &c. 

f For love and kindness please him more 

i Than if we gave him all our store ; 

I And children here, who dwell in love, 

n Are hke his happy ones above. 

' We're all brothers, sisters, brothers, <fcc. 

The gentle child that tries to please, 
That hates to quarrel, fret, and teaze, 
And would not say an angry word- 
That child is pleasing to the Lord. 

We're all brothers, sisters, brothers, <kc. 

O God ! forgive, w^henever we 
Forget thy will, and disagree ; 
And grant that each of us may find 
The sweet delight of being kind. 

We're all brothers, sisters, brothers, &c. 

Wc were convinced that the negroes were as 

.pable of receiving instruction as any people in 

e world. The testimony of teachers, missiona- 

3s, clergymen, and planters, was uniform on this 

)int. 

Said one planter of age and long experience on 

e island, " The negroes are as capable of culture 

any people on earth. Color makes no diff'er- 
ce in minds. It is slavery alone that has de- 
aded the negro." 

Another planter, by way of replying to our 
quiry on this subject, sent for a negro child of 
'e years, who read with great fluency in any 
irt of the Testament to which we turned her. 
^ow,'' said the gentleman, " I should be asham- 
to let you hear my own son, of the same age 
th that little girl, read after her." We put the 
lowing questions to the Wesleyan missiona- 
s: "Are the negroes as apt to learn, i\s othev 
ople in similar circumstances'?" Their written 
5ly was this : " We think they are ; the same 
versified qualities of intellect appear among 
im, as among other people." We put the same 
estion to the Moravian missionaries, to the 
rgymen, and to the teachers of each denomina- 
n, some of whom, having taught schools in 
gland, were well qualified to judge between the 
ropean children and the negro children ; and we 
iformly received suijstantialljMhe same answer, 
ch, however, was the air of surprise with which 
• question was often received, that it required 
ne courage to repeat it. Sometimes it excited 
mile, as though wo could not be serious in the 
;uiry. And indeed we seldom got a direct and 
jlicit answer, without previously stating by 
y of explanation that we had no doubts of our 
n,_ but wished to remove those extensively en- 
tained among our countrymen. After all, we 
re scarcely credited in Antigua. Such cases as 

following were common in every school: 
Idren of tour and five years old r^'ading the 
Die; children beginning in their A, B,C's'and 
rnmg to read in foiu- months; children of five 
i six, answering a variety of questions on the 
toncal parts of the Old Testament ; children 
; a little older, displaying fine specimens of 
nuanship, performing sum's in the compound 
cs, and runnmg over the multiplication table, 
I the pound, shilling, and pence table, without 
stake. 
IVe were grieved to find tliat most of tlie 



teachers employed in the inatruction of the 
children, .were exceedingly unfit for the work. 
They are very ignorant themselves, and have but 
little skill in the management of children. This 
however is a necessary evil. The emancipated 
negroes feel a great anxiety for the education of 
their children. They encourage them to go to 
school, and they labor to support them, while they 
have strong temptation to detain them at home to 
work. They also pay a small sum every week 
for the maintenance of the schools. 

In conclusion, we would observe, that one of 
the prominent features of regenerated Antigua, is 
its education. An intelligent religion, and a re- 
ligious education, are the twin glories of this 
emancipated colony. It is comment enough upon 
the difference between slavery and freedom, that 
the same agents which are deprecated as the de- 
stroyers of the one, are cherished as the defenders 
of the other. 

Before entering upon a detail of the testimony 
which bears more directly upon slavery in 
America, we deem it proper to consider the 
inquiry, 

" What is the amount of freedom in Antigua, 
as regulated by law V ' ' ■■ ""•■■- 

1st. The people are entirely free from the whip, 
and from all compulsory control of the master. 

2d. They can change employers whenever they 
become dissatisfied with their situation, by pre- 
viously giving a month's notice. ■ . ' - 

3d. They have the right of trial by jury'-in all 
cases of a serious nature, while for small offences, 
the magistrate's court is open. They may have 
legal redress for any wrong or violence inflicted by 
their employers. 

4th. Parents have the entire control of their 
children. The planter cannot in any way inter- 
fere with them. The parents have the whole 
charge of their support. 

5th. By an express provision of the legislature, 
it was made obligatory upon every planter to sup- 
port all the superannuated, infirm, or diseased on 
the estate, who were such at the time of emancipa- 
tion. Those who have become so since 1834, fall 
upon the hands of their relatives for main- 
tenance. 

6th. The amount of wages is not determined 
by law. By a general understanding among the 
planters, the rate is at present fixed at a shilling 
per day, or a little more than fifty cents per week, 
counting five working days. This matter is 
wisely left to be regulated by the character of the 
seasons, and the mutual agreement of the parties 
concerned. As the island is suifering rather 
from a paucity of laborers, than otherwise, labor 
must in good seasons command good wages. 
The present rate of wages is extremely low, 
though it is made barely tolerable by the addi- 
tional perquisites which the people enjoy. They 
have their houses rent free, and in connection with 
them small premises forty feet square, suitable for 
gardens, and for raising poultry, and pigs, &c. ; 
for which they always find a ready market. 
Moreover, they are bu»ened with no taxes what- 
ever ; and added to tHiBthey are supplied with 
medical attendance at t^expense of the estates. 

7th. The master is authorized in case of neg- 
lect of work, or turning out late in the morning, 
or entire absence from labor, to reduce the wages, 
or withhold them for a time, not exceeding a week. 
8th. The agricultural laborers may leave the 
field whenever they choose, (provided they give a 
month's previouf notice,) and engage in any 



34 



ANTIGUA. 



other business ; or they may purchase land and 
become cultivators themselves, though in either 
case they are of course liable to forfeit their houses 
on the estates. 

9th. They may leave the island, if they choose, 
and seek their fortunes in any other part of the 
world, by making provision for their near rela- 
tives left behind. This privilege has been lately 
tested by the emigration of some of the negroes 
to Demerara. The authorities of the island be- 
came alarmed lest they should lose too many of 
the laboring population, and the question was 
under discussion, at the time we were in Antigua, 
whether it would not be lawful to prohibit the 
emigration. It was settled, however, that such a 
measure would be illegal, and the planters were 
left to the alternative of either being abandoned 
by their negroes, or of securing their continuance 
by adding to their comforts and treating them 
kindly. 

10. The right of suffrage and eligibility to 
office are subject to no restrictions, save the single 
one of property, which is the same with all colors. 
The property qualification, however, is so great, 
as effectually to exclude the whole agricultural 
negro population for many years. 

11th. The main constabulary force is com- 
posed of emancipated negroes, living on the 
estates. One or two trvist-worthy men on each 
estate are empowered with the authority of con- 
stables in relation to the people on the same 
estate, and much reliance is placed upon these 
men, to preserve order and to bring offenders to 
trial. 

12th. A body of police has been established, 
whose duty it is to arrest all disorderly or riotous 
oei-sons, to repair to the estates in case of trouble, 
and co-operate with the constables, in arraigning 
all persons charged with the violation of law. 

13th. The punishment for slight offences, such 
as stealing sugar-canes from the field, is confine- 
ment in the house of correction, or being sentenced 
to the tread-mill, for any period from three days 
to three months. The punishment for burglary, 
and other high offences, is solitary confinement 
in chains, or transportation for life to Botany 
Bay. 

Such are the main features in the statutes, reg- 
ulating the freedom of the emancipated popula- 
tion of Antigua. It will be seen that there is no 
enactment which materially modifies, or unduly 
restrains, the liberty of the subject. There are 
no secret reservations or postscript provisoes, 
which nullify the boon of freedom. Not only is 
slavery utterly abolished, but all its appendages 
are scattered to the winds ; and a system of im- 
partial laws secures justice to all, of every color 
and condition. 

The measure of success which has crowned 
the experiment of emancipation in Antigua — an 
experiment tried under so many adverse circum- 
stances, and with comparatively few local advan- 
tages — is highly encouraging to slaveholders in 
our country. It must be e.vident that the balance 
of advantages between^th^ situation of Antigua 
and that of the South, 'ts decidedly in favor of 
the latter. The South has her resident proprie- 
tors, her resources of wealth, talent, and enter- 
prise, and her preponderance of white population ; 
she also enjoys a regularity of seasons, but rarely 
disturbed by desolating droughts, a bracing 
climate, which imparts energy and activity to her 
laboring population, and comparatively numerous 
wants to stimulate and press the laborer up to the 



working mark ; she has close by her side thi 
example of a free country, whose superior pro ' 
gress in internal improvements, wealth, the art 
and sciences, morals and religion, all ocular de 
monstration to her of her own wretched policy 
and a moving appeal in favor of abolition; anc 
above all, she has the opportunity of choosing he 
own mode, and of ensuring all the blessings of | 
voluntary and peaceable manumission, while thi 
energies, the resources, the sympathies, and th 
prayers of the North, stand pledged to her as 
sistance. 



CHAPTER III. 

FACTS AND TESTIMONY. 

We have reserved the mass of facts and testit 
mony, bearing immediately upon slavery in Amer 
ica, in order that we might present them togethe 
in a condensed form, under distinct heads. Thes 
heads, it will be perceived, consist chiefly of prop 
ositions which are warmly contested in ou^ 
country. Will the reader examine these princi 
pies in the light of facts 1 Will the candid of ou^ 
countrymen — whatever opinions they may hithert 
have entertained on this subject — hear the concur 
rent testimony of numerous planters, legislators, 
lawyers, physicians, and merchants, who hav) 
until three years past been wedded to slavery b; 
birth, education, prejudice, associations, and supi 
posed interest, but who have since been divorce' 
from all connection with the system 1 

In most cases we shall give the names, the staj 
tions, and business of our witnesses ; in a few ir 
stances, in which we wore requested to withhol 
the name, we shall state such circumstances a 
will serve to show the standing and competenc; 
of the individuals. If the reader should find i 
what follows, very little testimony unfavorable t 
emancipation, he may know the reason to be, tha 
little was to be gleaned from any part of Antigue| 
Indeed, we may say that, with very few exce^ 
tions, the sentiments hers recorded as coming froij! 
individuals, are really the sentiments of the who|| 
community. There is no such thing known il 
Antigua as an opposing, disaffected party. Sl; 
complete and thorough has been the change ij 
public opinion, that it would be now disreptdabi 
to speak against emancipation. | 

First proposition. — The transition from slaver]i 
to freedom is represented as a great revolution, b] 
which a prodigious change was effected in the con 
dition of the negroes. 

In conversation with us, the planters often spokl 
of the greatness and suddenness of the changj: 
Said Mr. Barnard, of Green Castle estate, " Th. 
transition from slavery to freedom, was like pass 
ing suddenly out of a dark dungeon into the ligh, 
of the sun." 

R. B. Eldridge, Esq., a member of the assembly 
remarked, that, " There never had been in the his 
tory of the world so great and instantaneous \ 
change in the condition of so large a body 
people." 

The Honorable Nicholas Nugent, speaker of th^ 
house of assembly, and proprietor, said, " Then 
never was so sudden a transhion from one stat 
to another, by so large a body of people. Whei 
the clock began to strike the hour of twelve oi| 
the last night of July, 1834, the negroes of Anti 
gua were's/aws — when it ceased they were a' 
freemen ! It was a stupendous change," he said 
" and it was one of the sublimest spectacles eve 
witnessed, to see the subjects of the change on 

i 



0| 



ANTIGUA. 



35 



aged at the very moment it occurred, in worship- 
ing God." 

These, and very many similar ones, were the 
pontaneous expressions of men who had longcoii^ 
:nded against (he change of which they spoke. 

It is exceedingly difficult to make slaveholders 
ee that there is any material difterence between 
lavery and freedom ; but when they have once 
enounced slavery, they ?r;7Z magnify this distinc- 
ion more than any other class of men. 
[ Second proposition. — Emancipation in Anti- 
ua was the result of political and pecuniary con- 
iderations merely. 

Abolition was seen to be inevitable, and there 
rere but two courses left to the colonists — to adopt 
le apprenticeship system, or immediate emanci- 
ation. Motives of convenience led them to choose 
le latter. Considerations of general philanthropy, 
f human rights, and of the sinfulness of slavery, 
■ere scarcely so much as thought of 

Some time previous to the abolition of slavery, 
meeting of the influential men of the island was 
illed in St. John's, to memorialize parliament 
gainst the measure of abolition. When the 
leeting convened, the Hon. Samuel O. Baijer, 
'ho had been the champion of the opposition, was 
illed upon to propose a plan of procedure. To 
le consternation of the pro-slavery meeting, their 
lader arose and spoke to the following effect : — 
Gentlemen, my previous sentiments on this sub- 
let are well known to you all : be not surprised to 
iarn that they have undergone an entire change. I 
ave not altered my views without mature delibe- 
ition. I have been making calculations with 
;gard to the probable results of emancipation, and 
have ascerlaiTied. beijond a doubt, that I can cul- 
vate my estate at least one third cheaper by free 
ibor than by slave labor." After Mr. B.had 
nished his remarks, Mr. S. Shands, member of 
ssetnbly, and a wealthy proprietor, observed that 
e entertained precisely the same views with those 
ijst expressed ; but he thought that the honorable 
entleman had been unwise in uttering them in so 
ublic a manner ; " for," said he, " should these 
jiitiments reach the ear of parliament, as coming 
■om us, it might induce them to loithhold the com- 
".nsation." 

Col. Edwards, member of the assembly, then 
rose and said, that he had long been opposed to 
avery, but he had not dared to avow his scnti- 
•ents. 

As might be supposed, the meeting adjourned 
'ithout effecting the object for which it was con- 
ened. 

When the question came before the colonial as- 
;mbly, similar discussions ensued, and finally 
le bill for immediate emancipation passed both 
odies unanimously. It was an evidence of the 
pirit of selfish expediency, which prompted the 
^hole procedure, that they clogged the emancipa- 
on bill with the proviso that a certain govern- 
lental tax on exports, called the four and a half 
er cent, tax,* should be repealed. Thus clogged, 

* We subjoin the following brief history of the four and 
half per cent, tax, which we procured from the i-:]iraker 
r the assembly. In the reijrn of Charles II., Anlifrua \ras 
jnquered by the French, and tlie inliabitants wore forced 
1 swear allegiance to the French government. In a very 
lort time the French were driven otf the island, and the 
'nglish again took possession of it. It was then declared, 
y order of the kinj, that as llie people had. by swearins 
|legiance to anotlier government, lorfeited the protec- 
pn of the British government, and all title to their lands, 
ley should not again receive either, except on condition 
f paying to the king a duty of four and a half per cent, on 
.7ery article exported from the island— and tliat tliev 



the bill was sent home for sanction, but it was re- 
jected by parliament, and sent back with instruc- 
tions, that before it could receive his majesty's 
seal, it must appear wholly unencumbered with 
extraneous provisoes. This was a great disap- 
pointment to the legislature, and it so chagrined 
them that very many actually withdrew their sup- 
port from the bill for emancipation, which passed 
finally in the assembly only by the casting vote 
of the speaker. 

The verbal and written statements of numerous 
planters also confirm the declaration that emanci- 
pation was a measure solely of selfish policy. 

Said Mr. Barnard, of Green Castle estate • 
"Emancipation was preferred to apprenticeship, 
because it was attended with less trouble, and left 
the planters independent, instead of being saddled 
with a legion of stipendiary magistrates." 

Said Dr. Daniell, member of the council, and 
proprietor — " The apprenticeship was rejected by 
us solely from motives of policy. We did not 
wish to be annoyed with stipendiary magistrates." 

Said Hon. N. Nugent — " We wished to let our- 
selves down in the easiest manner possible ; there- 
fore we chose immediate freedom in preference to 
the apprenticeship." 

" Emancipation was preferred to apprentice- 
ship, because of the inevitable and endless per- 
plexities connected with the latter system.'' — Da- 
vid Cranstoun, Esq., colonial magistrate and 
planter. 

" It is not pretended that emancipation was pro- 
duced by the influence of religious considerations. 
It was a measure of mere convenience and interest." 
— A Moravian Missionary. 

The following testimony is extracted from a 
letter addressed to us by a highly respectable 
merchant of St. John's — a gentleman of long ex- 
perience on the island, and now agent for several 
estates. " Emancipation was an act of mere pol- 
icy, adopted as the safest and most economic meas- 
ure." 

Our last item of testimony under this head is 
from a written statement by the Hon. N. Nugent, 
speaker of the assembly, at the time of emancipa- 
tion. His remarks on this suliject, although long, 
we are sure will be read with interest. Alluding 
to the adoption of immediate emancipation in pref- 
erence to the apprenticeship, he observes : — 

" The reasons and considerations which led to 
this step were various, of course impressing the 
minds of different individuals in different degrees. 
As slave emancipation could not be averted, and 
must inevitably take place very shortly, it was 
better to meet the crisis at once, than to have it 
hanging over our heads for six years, with all its 
harassing doubts and anxieties; better to give an 
air of grace to that which would be ultimately 
unavoidable ; the slaves should rather have a mo- 
tive of gratitude and kind reciprocation, than to 
feel, on being declared free, that their emancipa- 
tion could neither be withheld nor retarded by their 
owners. The projected apprenticeship, while it 

were to do in perpetuily. To this hard condition they 
were obliged to submit, and they liave groaned under the 
onerous duty ever since. On every occasion, which of- 
fered any hope, they have sought the repeal of the tax, 
but have iiniformly"been defeated. Wlien they saw that 
the abolition question was coming to a crisis, they re- 
solved to make a last effort for the repeal of the four and 
a half percent, duty. They therelbre adopted immediate 
emancipation, and then, covered as they were, with the 
laiu'els of so m.ignanimons an act, they presented to par- 
liament their cherished object. The defeat was a hu 
miliatingone, and it produced such a reaction in the isl- 
and, as well nigh led to the rescinding of tbc alwlition bill. 



36 



ANTIGUA. 



destroyed the means of an instant coercion in a 
state of involuntary labor, equally withdrew or 
neutralized all those urgent motives which con- 
strain to industrious exertion in the case of free- 
men. It abstracted from the master, in a state of 
things then barely remunerative, one fourth of the 
time and labor required in cultivation, and gave it 
to the servant, while it compelled the master to 
supply the same allowances as before. With 
many irksome restraints, conditions, and responsi- 
bilities imposed on the master, it had no equiva- 
lent advantages. There appeared no reason, in 
short, why general emancipation would not do as 
well in 1834 as in 1840. Finally, a strong con- 
viction existed that from peculiarity of climate and 
soil, the physical wants and necessities of the peas- 
antry would compel them to labor for tlieir sub- 
sistence, to seek employment and wages from the 
proprietors of the soil; and if the transformation 
could be safely and quietly brought about, that 
the. free system might be cheaper and more prof- 
itable than the other." 

The general testimony of planters, missiona- 
ries, clergymen, merchants, and others, was in 
confirmation of the same truth. 

There is little reason to believe that the views 
of the colonists on this subject have subsequently 
undergone much change. We did not hear, ex- 
cepting occasionally among the missionaries and 
clergy, the slightest insinuation thrown out that 
slavery luas sinful ; that the slaves had ti right to 
freedom, or that it would have been wrong to 
have continued them in bondage. The politics 
of anti-slavery the Antiguans are exceedingly 
well versed in, but of its religion, they seem to 
feel but little. They seem never to have exam- 
ined slavery in its moral i-elations ; never to have 
perceived its monstrous violations of right and 
its impious tramplings upon God and man. The 
Antigua planters, it would appear, have yet to 
repent of the sin of slaveholding. 

If the results of an emancipation so destitute of 
principle, so purely selfish, could produce such 
general satisfaction, and be followed by such hap- 
py results, it warrants us in anticipating still more 
decided and unmingled blessings in the train of a 
voluntary, conscientious, and religious abolition. 

Third proposition. — The event of emancipa- 
tion passed peaceably. The first of August, 
1834, is universally regarded in Antigua, as hav- 
ing presented a most imposing and sublime moral 
spectacle. It is almost impossible to be in the 
company of a missionary, a planter, or an eman- 
cipated negro, for ten minutes, without hearing 
some allusion to that occasion. Even at the time 
of our visit to Antigua, after the lapse of nearly 
three years, they spoke of the event with an ad- 
miration appai-ently unabated. 

For some time previous to the first of August, 
forebodings of disaster lowered over the island. 
The day was fixed ! Thirty thousand degraded 
human beings were to be brought forth from the 
dungeon of slavery and " turned loose on the 
community !" and this was to be done " in a mo- 
ment, in the twinkling of an eye." 

Gloomy apprehensions were entertained by 
many of the planters. Some timorovis families 
did not go to bed on the night of the 31st of July ; 
fear drove sleep from their eyes, and they awaited 
with fluttering pulse the hour of midnight, fearing 
lest the same bell which sounded the jubilee of the 
slaves might toll the death knell of the masters.* 

* We were informed by a merchant of St. John's, that 
effveral American vessels which had lain for weeks in 



The more intelligent, who understood the disp 
sition of the negroes, and contemplated the nati 
ral tendencies of emancipation, through phil( 
sophical principles, and in the light of huma 
nature and history, were free from alarm. 

To convey to the reader some idea of the mai 
ner in which the great crisis passed, we give tl 
substance of several accounts which were relate! 
to us in different parts of the island, by thos ; 
who witnessed them. 

The Wesleyans kept " watch-night" in a!i 
their chapels on the night of the 31st "July. Ore 
of the Wesleyan missionaries gave us an accour J* 
of the watch meeting at the chapel in St. John':;/ 
The spacious house was filled with the candidatf 
for liberty. All was animation and eagernes: . 
A mighty chorus of voices swelled the song o '<! 
expectation and joy, and as they united in prajre; ,'s 
the voice of the leader was drowned in the vin,»/ 
versal acclamations of thanksgiving and praise ,^ 
and blessing, and honor, and glory, to God, wh t'l 
had come down for their deliverance. In sue u 
exercises the evening was spent until the hour oi'^ 
twelve approached. The missionary then pron) 
posed that when the clock on the cathedral should'J 
begin to strike, the whole congregation shouhi^" 
fall upon their knees and receive the boon of free*] 
dom in silence. Accordingly, as the loud hdi'f. 
tolled its first note, the immense assembly fel 
prostrate on their knees. All was silence, sav 
the quivering half-stifled breath of the strugglini*,, 
spirit. The slow notes of the clock fell upon th<ll 
multitude ; peal on peal, peal on peal, rolled overt 
the prostrate throng, in tones of angels' voices! 
thrilling among the desolate chords and weai-}! 
heart strings. Scarce had the clock sounded itHJ 
last note, when the lightning flashed vividly.5 
around, and a loud jieal of thunder roared alon 
the sky — God's pillar of fire, and trump of jubilee 
A moment of profoundest silence passed — thei 
came the burst — they broke forth in prayerj 
they shouted, they sung, "Gloiy," "alleluia;" 
they clapped their hands, leaped up, fell down^ 
clasped each other in their free arms, cried,! 
laughed, and went to and fro, tossing upward ; 
their unfettered hands; but high above the whole 1 
there was a mighty sound which ever and anon j 
swelled up ; it was the titterings in broken negro- 
dialect of gratitude to God. ■ 

After tins gush of excitement had spent itself,] 
and the congregation became cahn, the religiou;ij 
exercises were i-esumed, and the remainder of the- 
night was occupied in singing and prayer, iiiji 
reading the Bible, and in addresses from the mis-' 
sionaries explaining the nature of the freedofc . 
just received, and exhorting the freed people to 
be industrious, steady, obedient to the laws, and j 
to show themselves in all things worthy of th:-! 
high boon which God had conferred upon them, j 

The first of August came on Friday, and i] 
release was proclaimed from all work until tlj-; 
next Monday. The day was chiefly spent b.-] 
the great mass of the negroes in the churches an ' i 
chapels. Thither they "flocked " as clouds, an ■• | 
as doves to their windows." The clergy an • ' 
missionaries throughout the island were activel ] 
engaged, seizing the opportunity in order to er ; 
lighten the people on all the duties and respons • ] 
bUities of their new relation, and above all, urgin / i 
them to the attainment of that higher liberty wh,. ] 

the harbor, weighed anchor on the 31st of July, and mac > : „ 
their escape, through actual fear, that the island wou! ' j 
be destroyed on the following day. Ere they set sa i 
they earnestly bcsouglu our informant to escape fro; | 
the island, as he valued his lif«. ] 



ANTIGUA. 



37 



Aiich Ciirist maketh his cliildren free. In every 
parter we were assured tlnit the day was like a 
iabbath. Work had ceased ; tiic hum of busi- 
ness was still, and noise and tumult were un-, 
hiard on the streets. Tranquillity pervaded the 
U)wns and country. A Sabbath indeed ! when 
■,he wicked ceased iVom troubling, and the weary 
re at rest, and the slave was free from his 
ster ! The planters informed us that they 
nt to the chapels where their own people were 
sembled, greeted them, shook hands with them, 
d exchanged the most hearty good wishes. 
The churches and chapels were thronged all 
er the island. At Cedar Hall, a Moravian 
ation, the crowd was so great that the minister 
ivas obliged to remove the meeting from the 
chapel to a neighboring grove. 

At Grace Hill, another Moravian station, the 
iegroe.s went to the Missionary on the day before 
he" first of August, and begged that they might 
1 ;i!lo\ved to have a meeting in the chapel at 
u'.iiiise. It is the usual practice among the Mo- 
.•avians to hold but one sunrise meeting during 
.he year, and that is on the morning of Easter: 
3ut as the people besought very earnestly for this 
special favor on the Easter morning of their free- 
ioiii, it was granted to them. 

Earli' in the morning they assembled at the 
ihapel. For some time they sat in perfect silence. 
The missionary then proposed that they should 
^neel down and sing. The whole audience fell 
(ipon their knees, ami sung a hymn coaunencing 
ivith the following verse : 

I " Now let us praise the Lord, 

With body, soul and spirit, 
Who doth such wondrous things, 
Beyond our sense and merit." 

The singing was frequently interrupted with 
he tears and sobbings of the melted people, until 
inally it was wholly arrested, and a tumult of 
amotion overwhelmed the congregation. 

During the day, repeated meetings were held. 
At eleven o'clock, the people assembled in vast 
lumbers. There were at least a thousand persons 
iround the chapel, who could not get in. For 
mce the house of God suflered violence, and the 
."iolent took it by force. After all the services 
)f the day, the people went again to the mission- 
u'ies in a body, and petitioned to have a meeting 
a the evening. 

At Grace Bay, the people, all dressed in white, 
issembled in a spacious court in front of the 
\loravian chapel. They formed a procession 
md walked arm in arm into the chapel. Similar 
;cenes occurred at all the chapels and at the 
■hurches also. We were told by the missiona- 
•ies that the dress of the negroes on that occasion 
.vas uncommonly simple and modest. There 
.vas not the least disposition to gaiety. 

We were also informed by planters and mis- 
sionaries in every part of the island, that there was 
jiot a single dance known of, either day or night, 
lor so much as a fiddle played. There were no 
•iotous assemblies, no drunken carousals. It 
A'as not in such channels that the excitement of 
he emancipated flowed. They were as far from 
lissipation and debauchery, as they were from 
violence and carnage. Gratitude was the ab- 
Borbing emotion. From the hill-tops, and the 
Iralleys, the cry of a disenthralled people went 
upward like the sound of many waters, " Glory 
lo God, glory to God." 

The testimony of the planters corresponds fully 
with that of the missionaries. 



Said R. B. Eldridge, Esq., after speaking of 
the number emancipated, " Yet this vast body, 
(30,000,) glided out of slavery into freedom with 
the utmost tranquillity." 

Dr. Daniell observed, that after so prodigious 
a revolution in the condition of the negroes, he 
expected that some irregularities would ensue; 
but he had been entirely disappointed. He also 
said that he anticipated some relaxation from 
labor during the week following emancipation. 
But he found his hands in the field early on Mon- 
day morning, and not one missing. The same 
day lie received word from another estate, of 
which he was proprietor,* that the negroes had 
to a man refused to go to the field. He imme- 
diately rode to the estate and found the people 
standing with their hoes in their hands doing 
nothing. He accosted them in a friendly man- 
ner : " What does this mean, my fellows, that 
you are not at work this morning 1" They im- 
mediately replied, " It's not because we don't 
want to work, massa, but we wanted to see you 
first and foremost to know what the bargain would 
be." As soon as that matter was settled, the 
whole body of negroes turned out cheerfully, 
without a moment's cavil. 

Mr. Bourne, of Millar's, informed us that the 
largest gang he had ever seen in the field on his 
property, turned out the week after emancipation. 

Said Hon. N. Nugent, " Nothing could surpass 
the universal propriety of the negroes' conduct on 
the first of August, 1834 ! Never was there a 
more beautiful and interesting spectacle exhibited, 
than on that occasion." 

Fourth puoposition. — There has been since 
emancipation, not only no rebellion in fact, but 
NO FE-iR OF IT ill Antigua. 

Proof 1st. The militia were not called out dur- 
ing Christmas holidaj's. Before emancipation, 
martial inw invariably prevailed on the holidays, 
but the very first Christmas after emancipation, 
the Governor made a proclamation stating that iii, 
consequence of the abolition of slavery it was no 
longer necessary to resort to such a precaution. 
There has not been a parade of soldiery on any 
subsequent Christnias.t 

2d. The uniform declaration of planters and 
others : 

" Previous to emancipation, many persons ap- 
prehended violence and bloodshed as the conse- 

* It is not unusual in the West Indies for proprietor.s 
to commit their own estates into the hands of managers; 
and be tliemselves the nianai^ers of other men's estates. 

t This has been followed by a measure on the part of 
the Legislature, wliich is further proof of tlie same thing. 
It is " an Act for amending and further continuing the se- 
veral Acts at present in force for better organizing and 
ordering !he militia." 

The prcamlile reads thus : 

" Whereas tlic abolition of slavery in this island ren- 
ders it cipodicnt to provide against an unnecessary aug- 
mentation of the militia, and the existing laws for better 
organizing and ordering that local force require amend- 
ment." 

The following military advertisement also shows the in- 
creasing confidence which is felt in the freed men : 

" Recruits Wanted. — The free men of Antigua are 
now called on to show their gratitude and loyalty to King 
William, for the benefits he has conferred on them and 
their families, by volunteering their services as soldiers 
in his First West India Regiment ; in doing which they 
will acquire a still higher rank in society, by being placed 
on a footing of perfect equality with the other troops in his 
Majesty's service, and receive the same bounty, pay, 
clothing, rations and allowances. 

None but young men of good character can be receiv- 
ed, and all such will meet with every encouragement by 
applying at St. John's Barracks, to 

H. DOWNIB, Capt. 1st W. I. Regt. 
September Wh, mo." 



38 



ANTIGUA. 



quence of turning the slaves all loose. But when 
emancipation took place, all these apprehensions 
vanished. The sense of personal security is uni- 
versal. We know not of a single instance in 
which the negroes have exhibited a revejigefnl 
spirit." S. Bounw, Esq., of Millar's. 

Watkins, Esq., of Donovan's. 

"It has always appeared to me self-evident, 
that if a man is peaceable while a slave, he Vv'ill 
be so when a free man." 

Dr. Ferguson. 

" There is no possible danger of personal vio- 
lence from the slaves ; should a foreign power in- 
vade our island, I have no doubt that the negroes 
would, to a man, fight for the planters. I have the 
utmost confidence in all the people who are under 
my management; they are my friends, and they 
consider me their friend." 

H. Armstrong, Esq., of FitcKs Creek. 

The same gentleman informed us that during 
slavery, he used frequently to lie sleepless on his 
bed, thinking about his dangerous situation — a 
lone white person fur away from help, and sur- 
rounded by hundreds of savage slaves; and he 
had spent hours thus, in devising plans of self-de- 
fence in case the house should be attacked by the 
negroes. " If they come," he would say to him- 
self, " and break down the door, and fill my bed- 
room, what shall I dol It will be useless to fire 
at them ; my only hope is to frighten the supersti- 
tious fellows by covering myself with a white 
sheet, and rushing into the midst of tliem, crying, 
' ghost, ghost.' " 

Now Mr. A. sleeps in peace and safety, without 
conjuring up a ghost to keep guai-d at his bed- 
side. His bodyguard is a battalion of substan- 
tial flesh and blood, made up of those who were 
once the objects of his nightly terror ! 

" There has been no instance of personal vio- 
lence since freedom. Some persons pretended, 
prior to emancipation, to apprehend disastrous 
results ; but for my part I cannot say that I ever 
entertained such fears. I could not see any thing 
which was to instigate negroes to rebellion, after 
they had obtained their liberty. I have not heard 
of a single case of even meditated revenge." 
Dr. Daniell, Proprietor, 
Member of Council, Attorney of six estates, and. 
Manager of ■JVcatkerill's. 

" One of the blessings of emancipation has been, 
that it has banished the yea/ of insurrections, in- 
cendiarism, &c." 

Mr. Favey, Manager of Lavicotmt's. 

" In my extensive intercourse with the people, 
as missionary, I have never heard of an instance 
of violence or revenge on the part of tlie negroes, 
even where they had been ill-treated during sla- 
very." 

Rev. Mr. Morrish, Moravian Missionary. 

"Insurrection or revenge is in no case dreaded, 
not even by those planters who were most cruel 
in the time of slavery. My family go to sleep 
every night with the doors unlocked, and we fear 
neither violence nor robbery." 

Hon. N. Nugent. 

Again, in a written communication, the same 
gentleman remarks: — "There is not the slightest 
feeling of insecurity — quite the contrary. Pro- 
perty is more secure, for all idea of insurrection- 
in aMished forever."' 



" We have no cause now to fear insuiTections ; 
emancipation has freed us from all danger on this 
score." 

David Cranstoun, Esq. 

Extract of a letter from a merchant of St. John's 
who has resided in Antigua more than thirty 
years : \ 

" There is no sense of personal danger arising 
from insurrections or conspiracies among the 
blacks. Serious apprehensions of this nature 
were formerly entertained ; but they gradually 
died away during the first year of freedom." 

We quote the following from a communication 
addressed to us by a gentleman of long experieuct* 
in Antigua — now a merchant in St. John's- 
James Scotland, Sen., Esq. 

" Disturbances, insubordinations, and revelry, 
have greatly decreased since emancipation; and 
it is a remarkable fact, that on the day of aboli- 
tion, which v/as observed with the solemnity and 
services of the Sabbath, not an instance of com- 
mon insolence was experienced from any freed 
man. 

" There is no feeling of insecurity. A stronger 
proof of this cannot be given than the dispensing, 
within five months after emancipation, with the 
Christmas guards, which had been regularly and 
uninterruptedly kept, for nearly one hundred years 
— during the whole time of slavery. 

" The military has never been called out, but 
on one occasion, since the abolition, and that was 
when a certain planter, the most violent enemy 
of freedom, reported to the Governor that there 
were strong symptoms of insurrection among his 
negroes. The story was generally laughed at, 
and the reporter of it was quite ashamed of his 
weakness and fears. 

" My former occupation, as editor of a news- 
paper, rendered it necessary for me to make inces- 
sant inquiries into the conduct as well as the treat- 
ment of the emancipated, and I have never hea'rd 
of any instance of revenge for former injuries. 
The negroes have indeed qirilled managers who 
were harsh or cruel to them in their bondage, but 
they removed in a peaceable and orderly manner. 

" Our negroes, and I presume other negroes too, 
are very little less sensible to the force of those 
motives which lead to the peace, order, and welfare 
of society, than any other set of people." 

•' The general conduct of the negroes has been 
worthy of much praise, especially considering the 
sudden transition from slavery to unrestricted 
freedom. Their demeanor is peaceable and or- 
derly." Ralph Higinbothom, U. S. Consul. 

As we mingled with the missionaries, both in 
tov/n and country, they ail bore witness to the 
security of their persons and ftmiilies. They, 
equally with the planters, were surprised that we 
should make any inquiries about insurrections. 
A question on this subject generally excited a 
smile, a look of astonishvncnt, or some exclama- 
tion, such as " Insurrection ! my dear sirs, we 
do not think of such a thing;" or, " Rebellion 
indeed ! why, what should they rebel for now, 
since they have got their liberty !" 

Physicians informed us that they were in the 
habit of riding into the country at all hours of the 
night, and though they were constantly passmg 
negroes, both singly and in companies, they nevet 
had experienced any rudeness, nor even so muck 
.■\s an insolent word. They could go by night or 
day, into any part of tlie island where their oro- 



i 






( 



i 



ANTIGUA, 



39 



ftsional duties called them, without the slightest 
tise of danger. 

■ A residence of nine weeks in the island gave 
us no small opportunity of testing the reality of 
its boasted security. The hospitality of planters 
and missionaries, of which we have recorded so 
many instances in a previous part of this worl\,_ 
i^ave us free access to their liouses in every part of 
the island. In many cases we were constrained 
to spend the night with them, and thus enjoyed, 
if the intimacies of the domestic circle, and in the 
iguarded moments of social intercourse, every 
^Dportunity of detecting any lurking fears of vio- 
lence, if such there had l)een ; but wc saw no 
evidence of it, either in the arrangements of the 
bouses or in the conduct of the inmates.* 

Fifth proposition. — There has been no fear of 
house breaking, highway robberies, and like mis- 
demeanors, since emancipation. Statements, si- 
Siilar to those adduced under the last Jiead, from 
planters, and other gentlemen, might be introdu- 

!ed here ; but as this proposition is so intimately 
nvolved in the foregoing, separate proof is not ne- 
cessary. The same causes which excite ai^pre- 
hensions of insurrection, produce fears of robber- 
ies and other acts of violence ; so also the same 
State of society which establishes security of per- 
son, insures the safety of property. Both in town 
jind country we heard gentlemen repeatedly speak 
pf the sligiit fastenings to their houses. A mere 
lock, or bolt, was all that secured the outside doors, 
'and they might be burst open with ease, by a single 
pnan. In some cases, as has already been intima- 
Ited, the plan*";rs habitually neglect to fasten their 
doors — so strong is their confidence of safety. We 
were not a little struck with the remark of a gen- 
tleman in St. John's. He said he had long been 
desirous to remove to England, his native country, 
and had slavery continued much longer in Anti- 
gua, he certainly should have gone ; but now the 
sccurilij of 'property iras so much greater in Anti- 
giui than it was 'n England, that he thought it 
doubtful whether he should ever venture to take 
his family thither. 

Sixth proposition. — Ernancipation is regard- 
ed by all classes as a great blessing to the island. 
There is not a class, or party, or sect, who do 
not esteem the abolition of slavery as a special 
blessing to them. The rich, because it relieved 
them of " property" which was fast becoming a 
disgrace, as it had always been a vexation and a 
tax, and because it has emancipated them from 
the terrors of insurrection, which kept them all 
their life time subject to bondage. The poor 
whites — because it lifted from off them the yoke 
of civil oppression. The free colored population 
— because it gave the death blow to the prejudice 
that crushed them, and opened the prospect of so- 
cial, civil, and political equality with the whites. 
The slaves — because it broke open their dungeon, 
led them out to liberty, and gave them, in one 
munificent donation, their wives, their children, 
their bodies, their souls — every thing! 

The following extracts from the journals of the 

* In addition to the evidence derived from Antigua, we 
would mention the following fact : 

A planter, who is also an attorney, informed us that on 
the neighboring little island of Barbuda, (whicli is leas- 
ed from the English fjovernment by Sir Christopher Cod- 
drin^ton,) there are five hundred negroes and on\y rhree 
white men. The negroes are entirely free, yet the whites 
continue to live among them without any fear of having 
tlieir throats cut. The island is cultivated in sugar — 
Barbuda is under the government of Antigua, and accord- 
ingly the act of entire emancipation extended to that 
si and. 



of 

The 



feeling 



first 



existing 
is dated 



legislature, show the state 
shortly after emancipation. 
October 30, 183-1 : 

" The Speaker said, that he lookfd with exul- 
tation at the prospect before us. The hand of the 
Most High was evidently working for us. Could 
we regard the universal tranquillity, the respectful 
demeanor of the lower classes, as less than an in- 
terposition of Providence "? The agricultural and 
commercial prosperity of the island were abso- 
lutely on the advance ; and for his part he would 
not hesitate to purchase estates to-morrow." 

The following remark was made in the course 
of a speech by a member of the council, Novem- 
ber 12, 1834: 

" Colonel Brown stated, that since emancipa- 
tion he had never been without a sufTicient num- 
ber of laborers, and he was certain he could 
obtain as many more to-morrow as he should 
wish." 

The general confidence in the beneficial results 
of emancipation, has grown stronger with every 
succeeding year and month. It has been seeu 
that freedom will bear trial; that it will endure, 
and continue to bring forth fruits of increasing 
value. 

The Governor informed us that " it was uni- 
versally admitted, that emancipation had been a 
great blessing to the island." 

In a company of proprietors and planters, who 
met us on a certain occasion, among whom were 
lawyers, magistrates, and members of the coun- 
cil, and of the assembly, the sentiment was dis- 
tinctly avowed, that emancipation was highly 
beneficial to the island, and there was not a dis- 
senting opinion. 

" Emancipation is working most admirably, 
especially for the planters. It is infinitely better 
policy than slavery or the apprenticeship either." 
— Dr. Ferguson. 

" Our planters find that freedom answers a far 
better purpose than slavery ever did. A gentle- 
man, who is attorney for eight estates, assured 
me that there was no comparison between the ben- 
efits and advantages of the two systems." — 
Archdeacon Parry. 

" All the planters in my neighborhood (St. 
Philip's parish) are highly pleased with the ope- 
ration of the new system." — Rev. Mr. JoTies, 
Rector of St. Philip^ s. 

" I do not know of more than one or two plant- 
ers in the whole island, who do not consider 
emancipation as a decided advantage to all par- 
ties."' — Dr. Daniell. 

That emancipation should be universally re- 
garded as a blessing, is remarkable, when we con- 
sider that combination of untoward circumstances 
which it has been called to encounter — a combi- 
nation wholly unprecedented in the history of 
the island. In 1835, the first year of the new 
system, the colony was visited by one of the most 
desolating hurricanes which has occurred for 
many years. In the same year, cultivation was 
arrested, and the crops greatly reduced, by 
drought. About the same time, the yellow fever 
prevailed with fearful mortality. The next year 
the drought returned, and brooded in terror from 
March until January, and from January until 
June : not only blasting the harvest of '36, but 
extending its blight over the crops of '37. 

Nothing could be better calculated to try th« 
confidence in the new system. Yet we find all 
classes zealously exonerating emancipation, and 
in despite of tornado, plague, and wasting, still 



40 



ANTIGUA. 



affirming the blessings and advantages of free- 
dom ! 

Seventh proposition. — Free labor is deci- 
dedly LESS EXPENSIVE than slave labor. It costs 
the planter actually less to pay his free laborers 
daily wages, than it did to maintain his slaves. 
It will be observed in the testimony which fol- 
lows, that there is some difference of opinion as to 
the precise am,ounto{ reduction in the expenses, 
wiiich is owing to the various modes of manage- 
ment on different estates, and more particularly, 
to the fact that some estates raise all their provi- 
sions, wJiile others raise none. But as to the 
fact itself, there can scarcely be said to be any 
dispute among the planters. There was one class 
of planters whose expenses seemed to be some- 
what increased, viz. those who raised all their 
provisions before emancipation, and ceased to 
raise any after that event. But in the opinion of 
the most intelligent planters, even these did not 
really sustain any loss, for originally it was bad 
policy to raise provisions, since it engrossed that 
labor which would have been more profitably 
directed to the cultivation of sugar; and hence 
they would ultimately be gainers by the change. 

S. Bourne, Esq. stated that the expenses on 
Millar's estate, of which he is manager, had di- 
minished about Oiic third. 

Mr. Barnard, of Green Castle, thought his ex- 
penses were about the same that they were form- 
erly. 

Mr. Favey, of Lavicount's estate, enumerated, 
among the advantages of freedom over slavery, 
"the diminished expense." 

Dr. Nugent also stated, that " the expenses of 
cultivation wera greatly diminished." 

Mr. Hatley, manager of Fry's estate, said that 
the expenses on his estate had been greatly re- 
duced since emancipation. He showed us the 
account of his expenditures for the last year of 
slavery, and the first full year of freedom, 1835. 
The expenses during the last year of slavery 
were ]31ll. Qs.iid. : the expenses for 1835 were 
821Z. 165. Ihd. : showing a reduction of more 
than one third. 

D. Cranstoun, Esq., informedus that his weekly 
expenses during slavery, on the estate which he 
managed, were, on an average, 45Z. ; the average 
expenses now do not exceed 20^. 

Extract of a letter from Hon. N. Nugent : 

" The expenses of cultivating sugar estates 
have in no instance, I believe, been found greater 
than before. As far as my experience goes, they 
are certainly less, particularly as regards those 
properties which were overhanded before, when 
proprietors were compelled to support more de- 
pendents than they required. In some cases, the 
present cost is less by one third. I have not time 
to furnish you with any detailed statements, but 
the elements of the calculation are simple enougli." 

It is not difficult to account for the diminiition 
in the cost of cultivation. In the first place, for 
those estates that bought their provision previous 
to emancipation, it cost more money to purchase 
their stores than they now pay out in wages. 
This was especially true in dry seasons, when 
home provisions failed, and the island was mainly 
dependent upon foioign supijlies. 

But the chief souix." of the diminution lies in 
the reduced number of people to be supported by 
the planter. During slavery, the planter was re- 
quired by law to maintain all the slaves belong- 
ing to the estate ; the superannuated, the infirm, the 
pregnant, the nurseg, the young children, and the 



infants, as well as the working slaves, i.ow n 
only the latter class, tlie effective laborers, (wit 
the addition of such as were superannuated or ii 
firm at the period of emancipation,) who are df 
pendent upon the planter. These are general! 
not more than one half, frequently less than 
third, of the whole number of negroes resident o 
the estate; consequently a very considerabl 
burthen has been removed from the planter. 

The reader may form some estimate of the re 
duced expense to the planter, resulting from thes 
causes combined, by considering the statemen 
made to us by Hon. N. Nugent^ and repeatedb 
by proprietors and managers, that had slaver- 
been in existence during the present droughi 
many of the smaller estates must hare been inevii 
ably ruined ; on account of the high price of im. 
ported provisions, (home provisions having fallen 
short) and the number of slaves to be' fed. V 

Eighth proposition. — The negroes work nio'} 
cheerfully, and do their work better than they di 
during slavery. VvT'ages are found to be an am:: 
pie substitute for the lash — they never fail to seie 
cure the amount of labor desired. This is pai ij 
ticularly true where task work is tried, which i li 
done occasionally in cases of a pressing nature? 
when considerable eftbrt is required. We hean i 
of no complaints on the score of idleness, but oi \ 
the contrary, the negroes were highly commend i 
ed for the punctuality and cheerfulness witl 
which they performed the work assigned them. 
ij; The Governor stated, that " he was assured b\ 
planters, from every part of the island, that thf 
: negroes were very industriously disposed." I 

s "My people have become much more industri- 
ous since they were emancipated. I have been 
induced to extend the sugar cultivation over a 
number of acres more than have ever been culti^j 
vated before." — Mr. Watkins, of T)onovan's. 

"Fearing the consequences of cmancipaUon, 
reduced my cultivation in the year '34; but sooi 
finding that my people would work as well as 
ever, I brougiit up the cultivation the next year to 
the customary extent, and this year ('36) 1 have 
added fifteen acres of new land." — S. Bourne, of 
Millar's. 

" Throughout tlie island the estates were never 
in a more advanced state than they now are. The 
failure in the crops is not in the slightest degree 
chargeable to a deficiency of labor. I have fre- 
quently adopted the job system for short periods j 
the results have always been gratifying — the ne- 
groes accomplished twice as much as when they 
worked for daily wages, because they made mor«; 
money. On some days 'they would make threi 
shillings — three times the ordinary wages." — Dr 
Daniell. 

" They are as a body more industrious thai 
when slaves, for the obvious reason tliat they are 
working for themsehes." — Ealpli Higinbothom 
U. S. Consul. 

" I have no hesitation in saying that on nT\ 
estate cultivation is more forward than ever i 
has been at the same season. The failure of th( 
crops is not in the least degree the fault of the la 
borers. They have done well." — 3Ir. Pavey oj 
LavicounVs estate. 

" The most general apprehension prior t 
emancipation was, tliat the negroes would nc 
work after they were made free — that they woul 
be indolent, buy small parcels of land, an 
' squat' on them to the neglect of sugar cultivo 
tion. Time, however, has proved that there wa 
no foundation for this npprehension. The estate 



ANTIGUA. 



4r 



ire never in better order than they are at pres- 
et. If you are interrogated on your return 
ime concerning the cultivaiion of Antigua, you 
n say that every thing depends upon the 7(;ca- 
'jicr. If vve have sufficient rain, you may he 
jertain that we shall realize ahundant crops. If 
[\'t have no rain, the crops must intvilubhj fail. 
Dative can always depend upon the laborers. On 
"count of the stimulus to industry which wages 
ford, there is far less feigned sickness than there 
fas during slavery. When slaves, the negroes 
tere glad to find any excuse for desertuig then- 
.bor, and they were incessantly feigning sick- 
jss. The sick-house was thronged with real 
[nd pretended invalids. After "oi, it was wholly 
ieserted. The negroes would not go near it; and, 
In truth, I have lately used it for a stable."— //ort. 
N. Nugent. 
" Though the laborers on both the estates under 
ly management have been considerably reduced 
nee freedom, yet the grounds have never been in 
finer state of cultivation, than they are at pres- 
nt. When my work is backward, I give it out 
n jobs, and it is always done in half ihe usual 

" Emancipation has almost wholly put an ena 



the practice of skulkin.!:, or pretending to be 
Ick. That was a thing which caused the planter 
vast deal of trouble during slavery. Every 
Monday morning regularly, when I awoke, I 
KUid ten or a dozen, or perhaps twenty men and 
/omen, standing around my door, waitmg for me 
) make my first appearance, and beggnig that I 
vould let them off from ^V2'•1^ that day on account 
. f sickness. It was seldom the case that one 
)urth of the applicants were really unwell ; but 
/ very one would' maintain that he was very sick, 
nd as it was hard to contend with them about it, 
:iey were all sent off to the sick-house. Now this 
,'9 entirely done away, and my sick-house is con- 
verted into a chapel for religious worship."— 
/ames Howell, Esq. 

" I find my people much more disposed to work 

'han they formerly were. The habit of feigning 

ickness to get rid of going to the field, is com- 

iletely broken up. This practice was very com- 

aon 'during slavery. It was often amusing to 

lear their complaints. One would come carrying 

,in arm in one hand, and declaring that it had a 

-nighty pain in it, and he could not use the hoe no 

vay; another would make his appearance with 

lOth hands on his breast, and with a rueful look 

omplain of a great pain in the stomach ; a third 

.amc limping along, with a dreadful rheumaliz 

n his knees; and so on for a dozen or more. It 

,vas vain to dispute with them, although it was 

)fien manifest that nothing earthly was ailing 

hem. They would sav, ' Ah ! me massa, you 

10 tink how bad me "feel— it's deep in, massa.' 

But all this trouble is passed. We have no sick- 

nouse now ; no feigned sickness, and really much 

less actual illness than formerly. My people say, 

they have not time to be sick now.' My cultiva- 

ion has never been so far advanced at the same 

leason, or in finer order than it is at the present 

ime. I have been encouraged by the increasing 

ndustry of my people to bring several additional 

icres under cultivation."— 3f/. Hatky, Fry's es- 

ate. 

" I get my work done better than formerly, and 
with incomparably more cheerfulness. My estate 
was never in a finer state of cultivation than it is 
low, though I employ /c7«cr laborers than during 
ilavery. I have occasionally used job, or task 



• 
work, and with great success. When I give out 
a job, it is accomplished in about half ihe time 
that it would have required by giving the cus- 
tomary wages. The people will do as much in 
one week at job work, as they will in two, work- 
ing for a shilling a day. I have known them, 
when they had a job to do, turn out before three 
o'clock in the morning, and work by moonlight." 
— D. Cransloun, Esq. 

" My people work very well for the ordinary 
wages; I have no fault to find wiili ihem in this 
respect." — Manager of Scotland's estate. 

E.xiract from the Superintendent's Report to the 
Commander in Chief. 

Superintendent's Office, June 6/7(, 1836. 
"During tiie last month I have visited the 
country in almost every direction, with the ex- 
press object of paying' a strict attention to all 
branches of agricultural operations at that period 
progressing. 

The result of my observations is decidedly 
favorable, as regards proprietors and laborers. 
The manufacture of sugar has advanced as far as 
the lon<r and continued want of rain will admit; 
the lands, generally, appear to be in a forward 
state of preparation for the ensuing crop, and the 
laborers seem to work with more steadiness and 
satisfaciion to themselves and their employers, 
than they have manifested for some length of lime 
past, and their work is much more correctly per- 
formed. ' ,j J , 

Complaints are, for the most part, adduced by 
the employers aerainst the laborers, and princi- 
pally consist, (as hitherto,) of breaches of contract ; 
but I am happy to observe, that a diminution of 
dissatisfaction on this head even, has taken place,, 
as will be seen by the accompanying general return 
of offences reported. 

Your honor's most obedient, humble servant, 
Richard S. Wickham, Superintendent of police." 

Ninth proposition. — The negroes are more 
easily managed as freemen than they were when 
slaves. 

On this point as well as on every other connect- 
ed with the system of slavery, public opinion in 
Antigua has undergone an entire revolution, since 



1834.^ It was then a common maxim that the 
peculiar characteristics of the negro absolutely re- 
quired a government of terror and brute force. 

The Governor said, "The negroes are as a 
race remarkable for docility; they are very easily 
controlled by kind influence. It is only necessary 
to gain their confidence, and you can sway them 
as you please." 

" Before emancipation took place, I dreaded the 
consequence of abolishing the power of compell- 
ing labor, but I have since found by experience 
that forbearance and kindness are sufficient for 
all purposes of authority. I have seldom had any 
trouble in managing my people. They consider 
me their friend, and the expression of my wish is 
enough for them. Those planters who have re- 
"tained their harsh manner do not succeed under 
the new system. The people will not bear it."— 
Mr. J. Howell. 

" I find it remarkably easy to manage my peo- 
ple. I govern them entirely by mildness. In 
every instance in which managers have persisted 
in their habits of arbitrary command, tiicy have 
failed. I have latelv been obliged to discharge a 
manager from one o'f the estates under my direc- 
tion, on account of his overbearing disposuion. It 



v» 



ti. 1.% i. i \J U A . 



I had not dismissed him, the people would have 
abandoned the estate en masse." — Dr. Daniell. 

" The management of an estate under the free 
system is a much lighter business than it used to 
be. We do not have the trouble to get the people 
to work, or to keep them in order." — Mr. Favey. 

" Before the abolition of slavery, I thought it 
would be utterly impossible to manage my people 
without tyrannizing over them as usual, and that 
it would be giving up the reins of government 
entirely, to abandon the whip ; but I am now sat- 
isfied that I was mistaken. I have lost all desire 
to exercise arbitrary power. I have known of 
several instances in wJiich unpleasant disturban- 
ces have been occasioned by managers giving way 
to their anger, and domineering over the laborers. 
The people became disobedient and disorderly, 
and remained so until the estates went into other 
hands, and a good management immediately re- 
stored confidence and peace." — Mr. Watkins. 

" Among the advantages belonging to the free 
system, may be enumerated the greater facility in 
managing estates. We are freed from a world of 
trouble and perplexity." — David Cranstoun, Esq. 

" I have no hesitation in saying, that if I have a 
supply of cash, I can take off any crop it may 
please God to send. Having already, since eman- 
cipation, taken off one fully sixty hogsheads above 
the average of the last twenty years. I can speak 
with confidence." — Letter from S. Boiirne, Esq. 

Mr. Bourne stated a fact which illustrates the 
ease with which the negroes are governed by gen- 
tle means. He said that it was a prevailing prac- 
tice during slavery for the slaves to have a dance 
soon after they had finished gathering in the crop. 
At the completion of his crop in '35, the people 
made arrangements for having the customary 
dance. They were particularly elated because 
the crop which they had first taken off was the 
largest one that had ever been produced by the 
estate, and it was also the lai-gest crop on the 
island for that year. With these extraordinary 
stimulants and excitements, operating in connec- 
tion with the influence of habit, the people were 
strongly iilclined to have a dance. Mr. B. told 
them that dancing was a bad practice — and a 
very childish, barbarous amusement, and he 
thought it was wholly wnhecornins: freemen. He 
hoped therefore that they would dispense with it. 
The negroes could not exactly agree with their 
manager — and said they did not like to be disap- 
pointed in their expected sport. Mr. B. finally 
proposed to them that he would get the Moravian 
minister. Rev. Mr. Harvey, to ride out and preach 
to them on the appointed evening. The people 
all agreed to this. Accordingly, Mr. Harvey 
preached, and they said no more about the dance — 
nor have they ever attempted to get up a dance 
since. 

We had repeated opportunities of witnessing 
the management of the laborers on the estates, 
and were always struck with the absence of every 
thing like coercion. 

By the kind invitation of Mr. Bourne, we ac- . 
companied him once on a morning circuit around 
his estate. After riding some distance, we came to 
the 'great gang' cutting canes. Mr. B. saluted 
the people in a friendly manner, and they all re- 
sponded with a hearty ' good mornin, massa.' 
There were more than fifty persons, male and 
female, on the spot. The most of them were em- 
ployed in cutting canes,* which they did with a 

* Tlie process of cutting canes is this : — The leafy part 
at top is first cut off down as low as the saccharine matter. 



heavy knife called a bill. Mr. B. beckoneu to m. 
superintendent, a black man, to come to him, anc 
gave him some directions for the forenoon's M'ork. 
and then, after saying a few encouraging words 
to the people, took us to another part of the estate 
remarking as we rode off, " I have entire confi- 
dence that those laborers will do their work just 
as I want to have it done." We next came upoc 
some men, who were hoeing in a field of corn. 
We found that there had been a slight altercation 
between two of the men. Peter, who was a fore- 
man, came to Mr. B., and complained that George 
would not leave the cornfield and go to another 
kind of work as he had bid him. Mr. B. called 
George, and asked for an explanation. George 
had a long story to tell, and he made an earnest 
defence, accompanied with impassioned gesticula-i 
tion; but his dialect was of such outlatidish de4 
scription, that we could not understand him. Mrlii 
B. told us that the main ground of his defence 
was that Peter's direction was altogether unrea-ii 
sonable. Peter was then called upon to sustain 
his complaint; he spoke with equal earnestness^ 
and equal unintelligibility. Mr. B. then gave hiai 
decision, with great kindness of manner, whicbt 
quite pacified both parties. 

As we rode on, Mr. B. informed us that George' 
was himself the foreman of a small weeding gang,,' 
and felt it derogatory to his dignity to be orderedi 
by Peter. " ; 

We observed on all the estates which we visit-t) 
ed, that the planters, when they wish to influence^ 
their people, are in the habit of appealing tothemrt 
SlS freemen, and that now better things are expect-' 
ed of them. This appeal to their self-respect sel- 
dom fails of carrying the point. 

It is evident from the foregoing testimony, thati 
if the negroes do not work well on any estate, iti 
is generally speaking the fatdt of the manager. 
We were informed of many instances in which 
arbitrary men were discharged from the manage- 
ment of estates, and the result has been the resto-* 
ration of order and industry among the people. 

On this point we quote the testimony of James! 
Scotland, Sen., Esq., an intelligent and aged mer-»' 
chant of St. John's: i 

" In this colony, the evils and troubles attending' 
emancipation have resulted almost entirely from 
the perseverance of the planters in their old habits^ 
of domination. The planters very frequently, 
indeed, in the early stage of freedom, used their 
power as employers to the annoyance and injury; 
of their laborers. For the slightest misconduct, , 
and sometimes without any reason whatever, the; 
poor negroes were dragged before the magistrates, 
(planters or their friends,) and mulcted in their 
wages, fined otherwise, and committed to jail or 
the house of correction. And yet those harassed 
people remained patient, orderly and submissive. 
Their treatment now is much improved. The 
planters liave happily discovered, that as long as 
they kept the cultivators of their lands in agita- 
tions and sufferings, their own interests were sacri- 
ficed." 

A few of the lowest joints of the part thus cut off, are 
then stripped of the leaves, and cut off iot plants, for the 
next crop. Tlie stall; is then cut off close to the ground — 
and it is that which furnishes the juice for sugar. It 
is froiu three to twelve feet long, and from one to two 
inches in diameter, according to the quality of the soil, 
thp scasonableness of the weather, &c. The cutters are 
followed by gatherem, who bind up the plants and stalks, 
as the cutters cast them behind them, in different bundles. 
The carts follow in the train, and talie up the bundles — 
carrying the stalks lo the mill to be ground, and the plants 
in another direction. 



i 



ANTIGUA. 



43 



Tenth proposition. — The negroes are more 
rust-ioorthy , and take a, deeper interest in their 
liiployers' affairs, since emanciptuion. 

•' My laborers manifest an increasing attach- 
nent to the estate. In all their habits they are 
)ecoming more settled, and they begin to feci that 
hey have a personal interest in the success of the 
ironerty on which they live."' — 3Tr. Faveij. 

'■ As long as the negroes felt uncertain whether 

ey would remain in one place, or be dismissed 

d compelled to seek a home elsewhere, they 

anifested very little concern for the advance- 
ment of their employers' interest ; but in propor- 
ion as they become permanently establislied on 
,n estate, they seem to identify themselves with 
IS prosperity. The confidence between master 
nd servant is mutually increasing." — Mr. James 
lotoell. 

The Hon. Mr. Nugent, Dr. Daniell, D. Cran- 
t(\uo. Esq., and other planters, enumerated among 
tie advantages of freedom, the planters being 
sleascd from the perplexities growing out of want 
f confidence in the sympathy and honesty of the 
laves. 

S. Bourne, Esq., of Millar's, remarked as we 
rere going towards his mill and boiling-house, 
;hich had been in operation about a week, "I 
ave not been near my works for several days; 
et I have no fears but that I shall find every 
ling going on properly." 

The planters have been too deeply experienced 
1 the nature of slavery, not to know that mutual 
;alousy, distrust, and alienation of feeling and 
iterest, are its legitimate offspring ; and they 
ave already seen enough of the operation of free- 
om, to entertain the 'confident expectation, that 
lir wages, kind treatment, and conifortaMe 
omes, will attach the laborers to the estates, and 
lentify the interests of the employer and the em- 
loyed. 

Eleventh proposition. — The experiment in 
Lntigua proves that emancipated .slaves can ap- 
reciate law. It is a prevailing opinion that those 
Mio have long been slaves, cannot at once be 
afely subjected to the control of law. 

It will now be seen how far this theory is sup- 
orted by facts. Let it be remembered that the 
egroes of Antigua passed, ''by a single jump, 
•om absolute slavery to unqualified freedom."* 
1 proof of their subordination to law, we give 
le testimony of planters, and quote also from the 
3lice reports sent in monthly to the Governor 
4th copies of which we were kindly furnished 
y order of His Excellency. 

" I have found that the negroes are readily con- 
■oUed by law ; more so perhaps than the labor- 
ig classes in other coantx'ies."— David Cran- 
■oun, Esq. 

'. " The conduct of the negro population gene- 
-illy, has surpassed all expectation. They are 
5 pliant to the hand of legislation, as any peo- 
le; perhaps more so than some." 

Wesleyan Missio?iary. 

Similar sentiments were expressed by the Gov- 
•nor, the Hon. N. Nugent, R. B. Eldridge, Esq., 
•r. Ferguson, Dr. Daniell, and James Scotland, 

., Esq., and numerous other planters, managers, 

c. This testimony is corroborated by the po- 
ce reports, exhibiting, as they do, comparatively 
w crimes, and those for the most part minor 
les. We have in our possession the police re- 
Drts for every month from September, 1835, to 

• Dr. Daniell. 



January, 1837. We give such specimens as will 
serve to show the general tenor of the reports. 

Police- Office, St. John's, Sept 3, 1335. 

" From the information which 1 have been able 
to collect by my own personal exertions, and from 
the reports of the assistant inspectors, at the out 
stations, I am induced to believe that, in general, 
a far better feeling and good understanding at 
present prevails between l\\e. laborers and their 
employers, than liitherlo. 

" Capital offences have much decreased in num- 
ber, as well as all minor ones, and the principal 
crimes lately submitted for the investigation of the 
magistrates, seem to consist chiefly in trifling 
ofi'ences and breaches of contract. 

Signed, Richard S. Wickham, 

Superintendent of Police.'' 
" To his excellency. 

Sir C. I. Murray McGregor, Governor, cf-c. 
St. John's, Antigua, Oct. 2, 1835. 

"Sir— The general state of regularity and 
tranquillity which prevails throughout the island, 
admits of my making but a concise report to 
your Excellency, for the last month. 

" The autumnal agricultural labors continue to 
progress favorably, and I have every reason to 
believe, that the agriculturalists, generally, are far 
more satisfied with the internal state of the island 
affairs, than could possibly have been anticipated 
a short period since. 

" From conversations which I have had with 
several gentlemen of extensive interest and prac- 
tical experience, united with my own observa- 
tions, I do not hesitate in making a favorable 
report of the general easy and quietly progressing 
state of contentedness, evidently showing itseff 
among the laboring class; and I may add, that 
with few exceptions, a reciprocity of kind and 
friendly feeling at present is maintained between 
the planters and their laborers. 

" Although instances do occur of breach of con- 
tract, they are not very frequent, and in many 
cases I have been induced to believe, that the 
crime has originated more from the want of a 
proper understanding of the time, intent, and 
meaning of the contract into which the laborers 
have entered, than from the actual existence of 
any dissatisfaction on their part." 
Sighted, <^c. 

St. John's, Antigua, Dec. 2d, 1835. 

" Sir — I have the honor to report that a con- 
tinued uninterrupted state of peace and good order 
has happily prevailed throughout the island, 
during the last month. 

'' The calendar of offences for trial at the en- 
suing sessions, bears little comparison with those 
of former periods, and I am happy to state, that 
the crimes generally, are of a trifling nature, and 
principally petty thefts. 

" By a comparison of the two last lists of offen- 
ces submitted for investigation, it will be found 
that a decrease has taken place in that for No- 
vember." Signed, t^c. 

St. John's, January Id, 1836. 

" Sir — I have great satisfaction in reporting to 
your Honor the peaceable termination of the last 
year, and of the Christmas vacation. 

" At this period of the year, which has for ages 
been celebrated for scenes of gaiety and amuse- 
ment among the laboring, as well as all othei 
classes of society, and when several successive 
day.s of idleness occur, T cannot but congratulate 



44 



ANTIGUA. 



your Honor, on the quiet demeanor and general 
good order, which has happily been maintained 
tliroLighout the island. 

" It may not be improper here to remark, that 
during the holidays, I had only one prisoner com- 
mitted to my charge, and that even his offence 
was of a minor nature." Signed, tf'C. 

Extract, of Report fo?- February, 183fJ. 

" The operation of the late Contract Acts, 
caused some trifling inconvenience at the com- 
mencement, but" now that they are clearly under- 
stood, even by the young and ignorant, I am of 
opinion, that the most beneficial effects have result- 
ed from these salutary Acts, equally to master and 
servant, and that a permanent understanding is 
fully established. 

" A return of crimes reported during the month 
of January, I beg leave to enclose, and at the 
same time, to congratulate your Honor on the vast 
diminution of all minor misdemeanors, and of 
the continued total absence of capital offences." 
" Superi7itA:ndenVs office, ) 

Antigua, April 4tk, 1836. ) 

" Sir — I am happy to remark, for the informa- 
tion of your Honor, that the Easter holidays have 
passed off, without the occurrence of any viola- 
tion of the existing laws sufficiently serious to 
merit particular observation."* Signed, <^c. 
Extract from the Report for May, 1836. 

" It affords me great satisfaction in being able 
to report that the continued tranquillity prevailing 
throughout the island, prevents the necessity of 
my calling the particular attention of your Honor 
to the existence of any serious or flagrant offence. 

" The crop season having far advanced, I have 
much pleasure in remarking the continued steady 
and settled disposition, which on most properties 
appear to be recipi'ocally established between the 
proprietors and their agricultural laborers; and I 
do also venture to offer as my opinion, that a 
considerable improvement has taken place, in the 
behavior of domestic, as well as other laborers, 
not immediately employed in husbandry." 

We quote the following table of offences as a 
specimen of the monthly reports : 

Police Office, St. John's, 

REXaRN OF OFFENCES REPORTED AT THE 
STATIONS FROM IsT TO 31ST MAY. 



1836. 

POLICE 



NATURE OP OFFENCES. 



Assaults. 

Do. and Batteries. - 
Breach of Contract. - 
Burglaries. . . . . 
Commitments under 
Vagrant Act. - - 
Do. for Fines. • - - 
Do. under amended 
Porter's and Job- 
ber's Act - - - 

Felonies. 

Ill] ury to property. 

Larcenies. 

Misdemeanors. - - - 

Murders. 

Petty Thefts. - - - - 
Trespasses. - . . . 
Riding impioperly 
thro' the streets. - 



Total. 



tS 



33 I 41 I 76 



59 
3 



o 

C 3 
■ m 



So 2 ^ 



3 " 



ir,o 



15 



25 



3 eT 



8 
16 



10 

7 
5 

10 
61 



^igned. 



Richard S. Wickham, 
Superintendent of Police. 
' This and the other reports concern, not St. John's 
merely, but. the entire population of the island. 



" Superintendent's office, 
Antigua, July dth, 1836. 

" Sir, — I have the honor to submit for your in- ' 
formation, a general return of all offences reported 
during the last month, by which your Honor will 
perceive, that no increase of 'breach of. contract' 
has been recorded. 

" Wiiile I congratulate your Honor on the suc- 
cessful maintenance of general peace, and a recip 
rocal good feeling among all classes of society, 1 
beg to assure you, that the opinion which 1 have 
been able to form in relation to the behavior of the 
laboring population, differs but little from my late 
observations. 

" At a crisis like this, when all hopes of the 
ultimate success of so grand and bold an experi- 
ment, depends, almost entirely, on a cordial co- 
operation of the community, I sincerely hope, that 
no obstacles or interruptions will now present 
themselves, to disturb that general good under- 
standing so happily established, since the adop- 
tion of unrestricted freedom." 

" Superintendent's office, } 
St. Jo/m's, Sept. iih, 1836. S 

" Sir — I have the honor to enclose, for the in- 
formation of your Excellency, the usual monthly 
return of offences reported for punishment. 

" It affords me very great satisfaction to report, 
that the internal peace and tranquillity of the 
island has remained uninterrupted during the last 
month ; the conduct of all classes of the commu- 
nity has been orderly and peaceable, and strictly 
obedient to the laws of their country. 

" The agricultural laborers continue a steady 
and uniform line of conduct, and with some few 
exceptions, afford a general satisfaction to their 
several employers. 

" Every friend to this country, and to the 
liberties of the world, must view with satisfac- 
tion the gradual improvement in the character 
and behavior of this class of the community, 
under the constant operation of the local enact 
ments. 

" The change must naturally be slow, but I fee 
sure that, in due time, a general amelioration in 
the habits and industry of the laborers will be 
sensibly experienced by all grades of society in 
this island, and will prove the benign effects and 
propitious results of the co-operated exertions 
of all, for their general benefit and future advance 
ment. 

" Complaints have been made in the public 
prints of the robberies committed in this town, as 
well as the neglect of duty of the police force, and 
as these statements must eventually come under 
the observation of your Excellency, I deem it 
my duty to make a few observations on this 
point. ' 

" The town of St. John's occupies a space of 
one hundred and sixty acres of land, divided into 
fourteen main, and nine cross streets, exclusive of 
• anes and alleys — with a population of about 
three thousand four hundred persons. 

" The numerical strength of the police force in 
this district, is eleven sergeants and two officers; 
five of these sergeants are on duty every twenty- 
four hours. One remains in charge of the premi- 
ses, arms, and stores; the other four patrole by 
day and night, and have also to attend to the 
daily duties of the magistrates, and the eleventh 
is employed by me (being an old one) in general 
patrole duties, pointing out nuisances and irregu- 
larities. 



i 



AJ:fTIGUA 



46 



" One burglary and one felony alone were re- 
ported throughout the island population of 37,000 
souls in the month of July; and no burglary, and 
three felonies, were last month reported. 

" The cases of robbery complained of, have 
been effected without any violence or noise, and 
have principally been by concealment in stores, 
which, added to the great want of a single lamp, 
or other light, in any one street at night, must 
reasonably facilitate the design of the robber, 
and defy the detection of the most active and 
vii^ilant body of police." 

Signed, tf-c. 

Superintendents office, > 

Ardigua, Jamuinj it.k, 1837. J 

" Sir — It is with feelings of the most lively 
gratification that I report for your notice the quiet 
and peaceable termination of Clirislmas vaca- 
tion, and the last year, which were concluded 
without a single serious violation of the governing 
laws. 

" I cannot refrain from cordially congratula- 
ting your Excellency on the regular and steady 
behavior, maintained by all ranks of society, at 
this particular period of the year. 

" Not one species of crime which can be con- 
sidered of an heinous nature, has yet been dis- 
covered ; and I proudly venture to declare my 
opinion, that in no part of his Majesty's domin- 
ions, has a population of thirty thousand con- 
ducted themselves with more strict propriety, at 
this annual festivity, or been more peaceably 
obedient to the laws of their country."' 

Signed, ^c. 

In connection with the above quotation from the 
monthly reports, we present an extract of a letter 
from the superintendent of the police, addressed 
to us. 

St. John's, 9th Febritary, 1837. 

" Mr DFAR SIRS — In compliance with your re- 
quest, I have not any hesitation in affording you 
any information on the subject of the free system 
adopted in this island, which my public situation 
has naturally provided me with. 

" The opinion which I have formed has been, 
and yet remains, in favor of the emancipation ; 
and I feel very confident that the system has and 
continues to work well, in almost all instances. 
The laborers have conducted themselves generally 
in a highly satisfactory manner to all the authori- 
ties, and strikingly so when we reflect that the 
greater portion of the population of the island 
were at once removed from a state of long exist- 
ing slavery, to one of unrestricted freedom. Unac- 
quainted as they are with the laws newly enacted 
for their future government and guidance, and 
having been led in their ignorance to expect in- 
calculable wonders and benefits arising from free- 
dom, I cannot but reflect with amazement on the 
peace and good order which have been so fortu- 
nately maintained throughout the island popula- 
tion of thirty thousand subjects. 

"Some trifling difficulties sprang up on the 
commencement of the new system among the 
laborers, but even these, on strict investigation, 
proved to originate more from an ignorance of 
\th£ir actual position, tha.x\ from any "bad feeling, 
or improper motives, and consequently were of 
shoH duration. In general the laborers are peacea- 
ble, orderly, and civil, not only to those who move 
in higher spheres of life than themselves, but also 
to each other. 



" The crimts they are generally guilty of, arc 
petty thefts, and other minor offences against the 
local acts ; but crimes of any heinous nature are 
very rare among them ; and 1 may venture to say, 
that petty thefts, breaking sugar-canes to eat, and 
offences of the like description, principally swell 
the calendars of our quarterly courts of sessions. 
Murder has been a stranger to this island for 
many years; no execution has occurred among 
the island population for a very long period ; the 
only two instances were two Irish soldiers. 

" Tiie lower class having become more acquaint- 
ed with their governing laws, have also be- 
come infinitely more obedient to them, and i have 
observed t\\a.\. particular care is taken among most 
of them to explain to each other l/ie nature of the 
laws, and to point out in their usual style the ill 
consequences attending any violation of them. 
^^ A due fear of , and a prompt obedience to, tlie 
authority of the magistrates, is a prominent fea- 
ture of the loiver orders, and to this I mainly at- 
tribute the successful maintenance of rural tran- 
quillity. 

" Since emancipation, the agricultural laborer 
has had to contend Vv'ith two of the most obstinate 
droughts experienced for many years in the island, 
which has decreased the supply of his accustomed 
vegetables and ground provisions, and consequent- 
ly subjected him and family to very great priva- 
tions; but this even, I liunk, has been submitted 
to with becoming resignation. 

" To judge of the past and present state of so- 
ciety throughout the island, I presume that the 
lives and properties of all classes are as secure in 
this, as in any other portion of his Majesty's do- 
minions ; and I sincerely hope that the "future be- 
havior of all, will more clearly manifest the cor- 
rectness of my views of this highly important 
subject. 

" I remain, dear sirs, yours faithfully, 
"Richard S. Wickham, Superintendent of police." 

This testimony is pointed and emphatic ; and 
it comes from one whose official business it is to 
knoxo the things whereof he here affirms. We 
have presented iiot- merely the opinions of Mr. 
W., relative to the subordination of the emanci- 
pated negroes in Antigua, but likewise the Jacis 
upon which he founded his opinion. 

On a point of such paramount importance wo 
cannot be too explicit. We therefore add the tes- 
timony of planters as to the actual state of crime 
compared with that previous to emancipation. 

Said J. Howell, Esq., of T. Jarvis's estate, " I 
do not think that aggressions on property, and 
crime in general, have increased since emancipa- 
tion, but rather decreased. They appear to be 
more frequent, because they are made more public. 
During slavery, all petty thefts, insubordination, 
insolence, neglect of work, and so forth, were 
punished summarily on the estate, by order of the 
manager, and not even so much as the rumor of 
them ever reached beyond the confines of the prop- 
erty. Now all offences, whether great or trifling, 
are to be. taken cognizance of by the magistrate 
or jury, and hence they become notorious. Form- 
erly each planter knew only of those crimes 
which occurred on his own property; now every 
one knows something about the crimes committed 
on every other estate, as well as his own." 

It will be remembered that Mr. H. is a man of 
thorough and long experience in the condition of 
the island, having lived in it since the year 1800, 
and being most of that time engaged directly ia 
the management of estates. 



46 



ANTIGUA, 



" Aggression on private property, such as break- 
ing into houses, cutting canes, &c., are decidedly 
fewer than formerly. It is true that crime is made 
more public now, than during slavery, when the 
master was his own magistrate."— i)r. Daniell. 

" I am of the opinion that crime in the island 
has diminished rather than increased since the 
abolition of slavery. There is an apparent in- 
crease of crime, because every misdemeanor, 
however petty, floats to the surface." — Hon. N. 
Nugent. 

We might multiply testimony on this point ; but 
suffice it to say that, with very few exceptions, the 
planters, many of whom are also civil magistrates, 
concur in these two statements; that the amount 
of crime is actually less than it was during slave- 
ry; and that it appears to be greater he<ia.\xse. of 
the publicity which is necessarily given by legal 
processes to offences which were formerly punish- 
ed and forgotten on the spot where they occuiTed. 

Some of the prominent points established by 
the foregoing evidence are, 

1st. That most of the crimes committed are pet- 
ty misdemeanors such as turning out to work 
late in the morning, cutting canes to eat, ' &c. 
High penal offences are exceedingly rare. 

2d. That where offences of a serious nature do 
occur, or any open insubordination takes place, 
they are founded in ignorance or misapprehen- 
sion of the law, and are seldom repeated a second 
time, if the law be properly explained and fully 
understood. 

3d. That the above statements apply to no par- 
ticular part of the island, where the negroes are 
peculiarly favored with intelligence and religion, 
but are made with reference to the island general- 
ly. Now it happens that in one quarter of the 
island the negro population are remarkably igno- 
rant and degraded. We were credibly inform- 
ed by various missionaries, who had labored in 
Antigua and in a number of the other English 
islands, that they had not found in any colony so 
much debasement among the people, as prevailed 
in the part of Antigua just alluded to. Yet they 
testified that the negroes in that quarter were as 
peaceable, orderly, and obedient to law, as in any 
other part of the colony. We make this state- 
ment here particularly for the purpose of remark- 
ing that in the testimony of the planters, and in 
the police reports, there is not a single allusion to 
this portion of the island as forming an exception 
to the prevailing state of order and subordination. 

After the foregoing facts and evidences, we ask, 
what becomes of the dogma, that slaves cannot be 
immediately placed under the government of 
equitable laws with safety to themselves and the 
community'? 

Twelfth profosition. — The emancipated ne- 
groes have shown 710 disposition to roam from 
place to place. A tendency to rove about, is thought 
by many to be a characteristic of the negro ; he 
is not allowed even an ordinary share of local at- 
tachment, but must have the chain and staple of 
slavery to hold him amidst the graves of his fa- 
thers and the society of his children. The exper- 
iment in Antigua shows that such sentiments 
are groundless prejudices. There a large body 
of slaves were ^^ turnedloose ;" they had full lib- 
erty to leave their old homes and settle on other 
properties — or if they preferred a continuous course 
o( roving, they might change employers every 
six weeks, and pass from one estate to another 
until they had accomplished the circuit of the 
island. But what are the facts'? " The negroes 



are not disposed to leave the estates on which thej 
have formerly lived, unless they are forced awaj 
by bad treatment. I have witnessed many factS' 
which illustrate this remark. Not unfrequenth' 
one of the laborers will get dissatisfied about some' 
thing, and in the excitement of the moment wil 
notify me that he intends to leave my employ ai 
the end of a month. But in nine cases out of ter 
such persons, before the month has expired, beg tc 
be allowed to remain on the estate. The strength 
of their local attachment soon overcomes their re- 
sentment, and even drives them to make the mosi 
luuniliating confessions in order to be restored tc 
the favor of their employer, and thus be permittee' 
to remain in their old homes." — H. Armstrong, Esq! 

"Nothing but bad treatment on the part of the 
planters has ever caused the negroes to leave the 
estates on which they were accustomed to live,: 
and in such cases a change of management has 
almost uniformly been sufficient to induce them tc" 
return. We have known several instances of thia 
kind."— «■. Bourne, Esq., of Millar's, and Mr.\ 
Watkins, of Donovan's. 

" The negroes are remarkably attached to the*r 
homes. In the year 1828, forty-three slaves were 
sold from the estate under my management, and 
removed to another estate ten miles distant. After 
emancipation, the whole of these came back, and 
plead with me to employ them, that they mightj 
live in their former houses." — James Howell, Esq.' 

" Very few of my people have left me. The 
negroes are peculiar for their attachment to their 
homes." — Samuel Bariiard, Esq., of Green Castle. 

" Love of home is very remarkable in the ne- 
groes. It is a passion with them. On one of the 
estates of which I am attorney, a part of the la- 
borers were hired from other proprietors. They 
had been for a great many years living on the 
estate, and they became so strongly attached to it, 
that they all continued to work on it after eman- 
cipation, and they still remain on the same proper- 
ty. The negroes are loth to leave their homes, 
and they very seldom do so unless forced away. 
by ill treatment." — Dr. Daniell. ] 

On a certain occasion we were in the company 
of four planters, and among other topics this sub- 
ject was much spoken of They all accorded per- 
fectly in the sentiment that the negroes were pecu- 
liarly sensible to the influence of local attachments. 
One of the gentlemen observed that it was a very 
common saying with them — " Me nebber leave my 
bornin' ground," — i. e., birth-place. 

An aged gentleman in St. John's, who was form- 
erly a planter, remarked, " The negroes have very 
strong local attachments. They love their little 
hut, where the calabash tree, planted at the birth 
of a son, waves over the bones of their parents. 
They will endure almost any hardship and suffer 
repeated wrongs before they will deseit that spot." 

Such are the sentiments of West India planters ; 
expressed, in the majority of cases, spontaneously, 
and mostly in illustration of. other statements. 
We did not hear a word that implied an opposite 
sentiment. It is true, much was said about the 1 
emigration to Demerara, but the facts in this case 
only serve to confirm the testimony already quo- 
ted. In the first place, nothing but the inducement 
of very high wages* could influence any to go, 
and in the next place, after they got there they 
sighed to i-eturn, (but were not permitted,) and 
sent back word to their relatives and friends not 
to leave Antigua. 

Facts clearly prove, that the negroes, instead ot 

' From fifty cents to a dollar per day. 



ANTIGUA. 



47 



King indifferent to local attachments, are pecu- 
iarly alive to them. That nothing short of cruel- 
y can drive thcVn from their homes — that they 
A'ill endure even that, as long as it can be borne, 
ather than leave ; and that as soon as the instru- 
nent of cruelty is removed, they will hasten back 
o their " bornvri' ground." 

Thirteenth proposition. — " The gift of un- 
estricled freedom, though so suddenly bestowed, 
las not made the negroes more insolent than they 
vere while slaves, but has rendered them less so." 
—Dr. Daniell. 

Said James Howell, Esq. — " A short time after 
mancipation, the negroes showed some disposi- 
ion to assume airs and affect a degree of indepen- 
lence ; but this soon disappeared, and they are 
low respectful and civil. There has been a mu- 
ual improvement in this particular. The planters 
reat the laborers more like fellow men, and this 
eads the latter to be respectful in their turn." 

R. B. Eldridge, Esq., asked us if we had not ob- 
erved the civility of the lower classes as wepass- 
d them on the streets, both in town and in the 
ounlry. He said it was their uniform custom 
bow or touch their hat when they passed a white 
lerson. They did so during slavery, and he had 
lot discovered any change in this respect since 
mancipation. 

Said Mr. Bourne — " The negroes are decidedly 
ess insolent now than they were during slavery." 

Said Mr. Watkins, of Donovan's—" The ne- 
;roes are now all cap in hand ; as they know that 
t is for their interest to be respectful to their em- 
iloyers." 

Said Dr. Nugent — " Emancipation has not pro- 
luced insolence among the negroes." 

During our stay in Antigua, we saw no indi- 
ations whatever of insolence. We spoke in a 
brmer part of this work of the uncommon civility 
nanifested in a variety of ways on the road- sides. 

A trifling incident occurred one day in St. John's, 
vhich at first seemed to be no small rudeness. As 
me of us was standing in the verandah of our 
odging house, in the dusk of the evening, a braw- 
ly negro man who was walking down the mid- 
lie of the street, stopped opposite us, and squar- 
ng himself, called out " Heigh ! What for you 
land dare wid your arms sol" placing his arms 
dvimbo, in imitation of ours. Seeing we made 
10 answer, he repeated the question, still standing 
n the same postvire. We took no notice of him, 
seeing that his supposed insolence was at most 
jood-humored and innocent. Our hostess, a co- 
ored lady, happened to step out at the moment, 
md told us that the man had mistaken us for her 
son, with whom he was well acquainted, at the 
same time calling to the man, and telling him of 
lis mistake. The negro instantly dropped his 
irms, took off his hat, begged pardon, and walked 
^way apparently quite ashamed. 

Fourteenth proposition. — Emancipation in 
Antigua has demonstrated that gratitude is a pro- 
ninent trait of the negro character. The conduct 
Df the negroes on the first of August, 1834, is 
ample proof of this; and their uniform conduct 
since that event manifests an habitual feeling of 
gratitude. Said one, " The liberty we received 
from the king, we can never sufficiently thank 
God for ; whenever we think of it, our hearts go 
out in gratitude to God." Similar expressions 
we heard repeatedly from the negroes. — We ob- 
served that the slightest allusion to the first of Au- 
gust in a company of freed persons, would awa- 
ken powerful emotions, accompanied with excla- 



mations of " tank de good Lord," " bless de Sa- 
vior," " praise de blessed Savior," and such like. 

It was the remark of Mr. James Howell, man- 
ager of Tiiibou Jarvis's — "That the negroes 
evin-;ed very little gratitude to their masters for 
freedom. Their gratitude all flowed toward God 
and the king, whom they regarded as the sole au- 
thors of their liberty." 

Mr. Watkins observed that " the negroes' motto 
was God and the king. This feeling existed par- 
ticularly at tiie time of emancipation, and shortly 
after it. They have since become more attached 
to their former masters." 

It is by no means strange that the negroes' 
should feel little gratitude toward their late mas- 
ters, since tliey knew tiieir opposition to the benev- 
olent intentions of the EnglisJi government. We 
were informed by Dr. Daniell and many others, 
that for several months before emancipation took 
place, the negroes had an idea that the king had 
sent them ' their free papers,' and that their mas- 
ters were keeping them back. Besides, it was but 
two years before that period, that they had conic 
into fierce and open hostility with tlie planters for 
abolishing the Sunday market, and giving them 
no market-day instead thereof In this tiling their 
masters had shown themselves to be their enemies. 
That any good thing could come from such per- 
sons the slaves were doubtless slow to believe. 
However, it is an undeniable fact, that since eman- 
cipation, kind treatment on the part of the masters 
has never failed to excite gratitude in the negroes. 
The planters understand fully how they may se- 
cure the attachment and confidence of their people, 
A grateful and contented spirit certainly charac- 
terizes the negroes of Antigua. They do not 
lightly esteem what they have got, and murmur 
because they have no more. They do not com- 
plain of small wages, and sti'ikefbr higher. They 
do not grumble about their simple food and their 
coarse clothes, and flaunt about, saying 'freemen 
ought to live better.^ They do not become dissat- 
isfied with their lowly, cane-thatched huts, and 
say we ought to have as good houses as massa. 
They do not look with an evil eye upon the polit- 
ical privileges of the whites, and say we have 
the majority, and we'll rule. It is the common 
saying with them, as we were told by the mis- 
sionaries, when speaking of the inconveniences 
which they sometimes suffer, " Well, we must be 
satify and conten." 

Fifteenth proposition. — The freed negroes of 
Antigua have proved that they are able to take care 
of themselves. It is affirmed by the opponents of 
emancipation in the United States, that if the 
slaves were liberated they could not take care of 
themselves. Some of the reasons assigned for en- 
tertaining this view are — 1st, " The negro is nat- 
urally iniprovident." 2d, " He is constitution- 
ally indolent." 3d, " Being of an inferior race, 
he is deficient in that shrewdness and manage- 
ment necessary to prevent his being imposed upon, 
and which are indispensable to enable him to con- 
duct any kind of business with success." 4th, 
" All these natural defects have been aggravated 
by slavery. The slave never provides for himself, 
but looks to his master for every thing he needs. 
So likewise he becomes increasingly averse to 
labor, by being driven to it daily, and flogged for 
neglecting it. Furthermore, whatever of mind he 
had originally has been extinguished by slavery." 
Thus hy nature and by habit the negro is utterly 
unqualified to take care of himself So much for 
theory ; now for testimony. First, what is the 



48 



ANTIGUA, 



evidence with regard to tli^ improvidence of the 
negroes 1 

" During slavery, the negroes squandered every 
cent of money they got, because they were sure of 
food and clothing. Since their freedom, they have 
begun to cultivate habits of carefulness and econ- 
omy." — Mr. James Howell. 

Facts — 1st. The low wages of the laborers is 
proof of their providence. Did they not observe 
the strictest economy, they could not live on fifty 
cents per week. 

2d. That they buy small parcels of land to cul-^ 
tivate, is proof of economy and foresight. The 
planters have to resort to every means in their 
power to induce their laborers not to purchase 
land. 

3d. The Friendly Societies are an evidence of 
the same thing. How can we account for the 
number of these societies, and for the large sums 
of money annually contributed in them 1 And 
how is it that these societies have trebled, both in 
members and means since emancipation, if it be 
true that the negroes are thus improvident, and 
that freedom brings starvation 1 

4th. The weekly and monthly contributions to 
the churches, to benevolent societies, and to the 
schools, demonstrate the economy of the negroes ; 
and the great increase of these contributions since 
August, 1834, proves, that emancipation has not 
made them less economical. 

5ih. The increasing attention paid to the culti- 
vation of tlieir private provision grounds is fur- 
ther proof of their foresight. For some time sub- 
sequent to emancipation, as long as the people 
were in an unsettled state, they partially neglected 
their grounds. The reason was, they did not 
know whether they should remain on the same 
estate long enough to reap their provisions, should 
they plant any. This state of uncertainty very 
naturally paralyzed all industry and enterprise; 
and their neglecting the cultivation of their provi- 
sion grounds, under such circumstances, evinced 
foresight rather than improvidence. Since they 
have become more permanently established on the 
estates, they are resuming the cultivation of their 
grounds with renewed vigor. 

Said Dr. Daniell — " There is an increasing at- 
tention paid by the negroes to cultivating their 
private lands, since ihey have become more per- 
manently settled." 

6lh. The fact that the parents take care of the 
wages which their children earn, shows their prov- 
ident disposition. "We were informed that the 
mothers usually take charge of thQ> money paid 
to their children, especially their daughters, and 
this, in order to teach them proper subordination, 
and to provide against casualties, sickness, and 
the infirmities of age. 

7ih. The fiict that the negroes are able to sup- 
port their aged parents, is further proof 

As it regards the second specification, viz., con- 
stitutional indolence, we may refer generally to 
the evidence on this subject under a former prop- 
osition. We will merely state here two facts. 

1st. Although the negroes are not obliged to 
work on Saturday, yet they are in the habit of go- 
ing to estates that are weak-handed, and hiring 
themselves out on that day. 

2d. It is customary throughout the island to 
give two hours (from 12 to 2) recess from labor. 
We were told that in many cases this time is spent 
in woi-king on their private provision grounds, or 
in some active employment by which a pittance 
may be added to their scanty earnings. 



What are the facts respecting the natural infe- 
riority of the negro race, and their incompetency 
to manage their own affairs 1 ' . 

Said Mr. Armstrong — " The negroes are ex-ll 
ceedingly quick to turn a thought. They show p 
a great deal of shrewdness in every thing which! 
concerns their own interests. To a stranger it| 
must be utterly incredible how they can manage! 
to live on such small wages. They are very ex- 
act in ]>:eeping their accounts with the manager." 

" The negroes are very acute in making bar-: 
..gains. A difficulty once arose on an estate under 
my charge, between the manager and the people, 
in settling for a job which the laborers had done. 
The latter complained that the manager did not 
give them as much as was stipulated in the ori- 
ginal agreement. The manager contended that 
he had paid the whole amount. The people 
brought their complaint before me, as attorneyi 
and maintained tliat there was one shilling andl 
six-pence (about nineteen cents) due each of them. 
1 examined the accounts and found that they were 
right, and that the manager had really made a mis- ! 
take to the very amount specified." — Dr. Daniell. 

" The emancipated people manifest as much 
cunning and address in business, as any class of 
persons." — Mr. J. Howell. 

" The capabilities of the blacks for education 
are conspicuous ; so also as to mental acquire- 
ments and trades." — Hon. N. Ntigent. 

It is a little remarkable that while Americans 
fear that the negroes, if emancipated, could not 
take care of themselves, the West Indians fear lest 
they should take care of themselves ; hence they 
discourage them from buying lands, from learning 
trades, and from all employments which might 
render them independent of sugar cultivation. 

SixTKENTH PROPOSITION. — Emancipation has 
operated at once to elevate and improve the ne- 
groes. It introduced them into the midst of all 
relations, human and divine. It was the first 
formal acknowledgment that they were men — per- 
sonally interested in the operations of law, and 
the requirements of God. It laid the corner-stone 
in the fabric of their moral and intellectual im- 
provement. 

" The negroes have a growing self-respect and 
regard for character. This was a feeling which 
was scarcely known by them during slavery." — 
Mr. J. Howell. 

" The negroes pay a great deal more attention 
to their personal appearance, than they were ac- 
customed to while slaves. The women in particu- 
lar have improved astonishingly in their dress 
and manners." — Dr. Daniell. 

Abundant proof of this proposition may be 
found in the statements already made respecting 
the decrease of licentiousness, the increased at- 
tention paid to marriage, the abandonment by the 
mothers of the horrible practice of selling their 
daughters to vile white men, the reverence for the 
Sabbath, the attendance upon divine worship, the 
exemplary subordination to law, the avoidance of 
riotous conduct, insolence, and intemperance. 

Seventeenth proposition. — Emancipation pro- 
mises a vast improvement in the condition of 
woman. What could more effectually force wo- 
man from her sphere, than slavery has done by 
dragging her to the field, subjecting her to the ob- 
scene remarks, and to the vile abominations of li- 
centious drivers and overseers ; by compelling 
her to wield the heavy hoe, until advancing preg- 
nancy rendered her useless then at the earliest 
possible period driving her back to the field with 



ANTIGUA. 



49 



her infant swung at her back, or torn from her 
and committed to a stranger. Some of these evils 
still exist in Antigua, but there has already been 
a great abatement of them, and the humane plant- 
ers look forward to their complete removal, and 
to the ultimate restoration of woman to the quiet 
and purity of domestic life. 

Samuel Bourne, Esq., stated, that there had 
heen a great improvement in the treatment of mo- 
thers on his estate. " Under the old system, mo- 
thi IS were required to work half the time after 
th< ir children were six weeks old ; but now we do 
flot call them out for nine months after their con- 
iiieineat, until their children are entirely weaned." 

" In those cases where womei\ have husbands in 
the field, they do not turn out while they are 
nuising their children. In many instances the 
husbands prefer to have their wives engaged in 
other work, and I do not require them to go to the 
field."— Mr. J Howell. 

Much is already beginning to he said of the 
probability that the women will withdraw from 
agricultural labor. A conviction of the impro- 
priety of females engaging in such employments 
IS gradually forming in the minds of enlightened 
»nd influential planters. 

A short time previous to emancipation, the Hon. 
N. Nugent, speaker of the assembly, made the fol- 
lowing remarks before the house: — " At the close 
of the debate, he uttered his fervent hope, that the 
day would come when the principal part of the 
agriculture of the island would be performed by 
males, and that the women would be occupied in 
keeping their cottages in order, and in increasing 
their domestic comforts. The desire of improve- 
ment is strong among them ; they are looking 
anxiously forward to the instruction and ad- 
vancement of their children, and even of them- 
selves." — Antigua Herald, of March, 1834. 

In a written communication to us, dated Jan- 
nary 17, 1837, the Speaker says : " Emancipation 
will, I doubt not, improve the condition of the fe- 
males. There can be no doubt that they will 
ultimately leave the field, (except in times of emer- 
gency,) and confine themselves to their appropri- 
ate domestic employments." 

Eighteenth proposition. — Real estate has risen 
in value since emancipation ; mercantile and me- 
chanical occupations have received a fresh im- 
pulse ; and the general condition of the colony is de- 
cidedly more flourishing than at any former period. 

" The credit of the island has decidedly im- 
proved. The internal prosperity of the island is 
advancing in an increased ratio. More buildings 
have been erected since emancipation, than for 
twenty years before. Stores and shops have mul- 
tiplied astonishingly ; I can safely say that their 
number has more than quintupled since the aboli- 
tion of slavery." — Dr. Ferguson. 

"Emancipation has very greatly increased the 
value of, and consequently the demand for, real 
estate. That which three years ago was a drug 
ahogether unsaleable by private bargain, has now 
many inquirers after it, and ready purchasers at 
good prices. The importation of British manu- 
factured goods has been considerably augmented, 
probably one fourth. 

" The credit of the planters who have been 
chiefly affected by the change, has been much im- 
proved. And the great reduction of expense in 
mavagins. the estates, has made them men of more 
real wealth, and consequently raised their credit 
both with the English merchants and our own." — 
James Scotland, Sen., Esq. 



" The effect of emancipation upon the com- 
merce of the island must needs have been bene- 
ficial, as the laborers indulge in more wheaten 
flour, rice, mackerel, dry fish, and salt-pork, than 
formerly. More lumber is used in the superior 
cottages now built for their habitations. More 
dry goods — manufactiu'es of wool, cotton, linen, 
silk, leather, &c., are also used, now tl-.at the la- 
borers can better afford to indulge their propensity 
for gay clothing." — Statejiient of a merchant and 
agent for estates. 

■' Real estate has risen in value, and mercantile 
business has greatly improved." — //. Armstrong, 
Esq. 

A merchant of St. John's informed us, that real 
estate had increased in value at least fifty per cent. 
He mentioned the fact, that an estate which pre- 
vious to emancipation could not be sold for £600 
current, lately brouglu £2000 current. 

Nineteenth proposition.— Emancipation has 
been followed by the introduction of labor-saving 
machinery. 

" Various expedients for saving manual labor 
have already been introduced, and we anticipate 
still greater improvements. Very little was 
thought of this subjett previous to emancipation." 
— iS. Bourne, Esq. 

" Planters are beginning to cast about for im- 
provements in labor. My own mind has been 
greatly turned to this subject since emancipation." 
— H. Armstrong, Esq. 

" The plough is beginning to be very exten- 
sively used." — Mr. Hatley. 

" There has been considerable simplification in 
agricultural labor already, which would have 
been more conspicuous, had it not been for the ex- 
cessive drought which has prevailed since 1834. 
The plough is more used, and the expedieiJls for 
manuring land are less laborious." — Extract of a 
letter from Hon. N. Nugent. 

Twentieth proposition. — Emancipation has 
produced the most decided change in the views of 
the planters. 

" Before emancipation took place, there was the 
bitterest opposition to it among the planters. But 
after freedom came, they were delighted with the 
change. I felt strong opposition myself, being ex- 
ceedingly unwilling to give up my power of com- 
mand. But I shall never forget how differently I 
felt when freedom took place. I arflse from my 
bed on the first of August, exclaiming with joy, 
' I am free, I am free ; I was the greatest slave on 
the estate, but now I am free.' " — Mr. J. Howell. 

" We all resisted violently the measure of aboli- 
tion, when it first began to be agitated in Eng- 
land. We regarded it as an outrageous inter- 
ference with our rights, with our property. But 
we- are now rejoiced that slavery is abolished." — 
Dr. Daniell. 

" I have already seen such decided benefits 
growing out of the free labor system, that for my 
part I wish never to see the face of slavery again." 
— Mr. Hatley. 

" I do not know of a single planter who would 
be willing to return to slavery. We all feel that 
it was a great curse." — D. Cranstoun, Esq. 

The speaker of the assembly was requested to 
state especially the advantages of freedom both to 
the master and the slave; and he kindly commu- 
nicated the following reply : 

" The benefits to the master are conspicuous — 
he has got rid of the cark and care, the anxiety 
and incessant worry of managing slaves; all the 
trouble and responsibility of rearing them from 



30 



ANTIGUA. 



infancy, of their proper maintenance in health, 
and sickness, and decrepitude, of coercing them to 
labor, restraining, correcting, and punishing their 
faults and crimes — settling all their grievances 
and disputes. He is now entirely free from all 
apprehension of injury, revenge, or insurrection, 
however transient and momentary such impres- 
sion may liave formerly been. He has no longer 
the reproach of being a slaveholder; his property 
has lost all the taint of slavery, and is placed on 
as secure a footing, in a moral and political point 
of view, as that m any other part of the British 
dominions. 

" As regards the other party, it seems almost 
nnnecessary to point out the advantages of being 
a free man rather than a slave. He is no longer 
liable to personal trespass of any sort ; he has a 
right of self-control, and all the immunities enjoy- 
ed by other classes of his fellow subjects — he is 
enabled to belter his condition as he thinks prop- 
er—he can make what arrangements he likes 
best, as regards his kindred, and all his domestic 
relations — he takes to his o%on use and behoof, all 
the wages and profits of his own labor; he re- 
ceives money wages instead of weekly allowances, 
and can purchase such particular food and neces- 
saries as he prefers — and so on! It would be 

ENDLESS TO ATTZMPT TO ENUMERATE ALL THE 
SUPERIOR ADVANTAGES OF A STATE OF FREEDOM TO 
ONE OF SLAVERY !" 

The writer says, at the close of his invaluable 
letter, "I was born in Antigua, and have resided 
here with little interruption since 1809. Since 
1814, I have taken an active concern in plantation 
affairs." He was born heir to a large slave prop- 
erty, and retained it up to the hour of emancipa- 
tion. He is now the proprietor of an estate. 

We have another witness to introduce to the 
reader, Ralph Higinbothom, Esq., the United 
States Consul ! — Hear him! — 

" Whatever may have been the dissatisfaction 
as regards emancipation among the planters at its 
commencement, there are few, indeed, if any, who 
are not now well satisfied that under the present 
system, their properties are better w^orked, and 
their laborers more contented and cheerful, than 
in the time of slavery." 

In order that the reader may see the revolution 
that has taken place since emancipation in the 
views of th^ highest class of society in Antigua, 
we make a few extracts. 

" There was the most violent opposition in the 
legislature, and throughout the island, to the anti- 
slavery proceedings in Parliament. The anti- 
slavery party in England were detested here for 
their fan-atical and reckless course. Such was the 
state of feeling previous to emancipation, that it 
would have been certain disgrace for any planter 
to have avowed the least sympathy with anti- 
slavery sentiments. The humane might have 
their hopes and aspirations, and they might se- 
cretly long to see slavery ultimately terminated ; 
but they did not dare to make such feelings pub- 
lic. Theij xvould at once have been branded as 
the enemies of their country !" — Hon. N. Njigent. 

" There cannot be said to have been any anti- 
sla,vcry party in the island before emancipation. 
There were some individuals in St. John's, and a 
very few planters, who favored the anti-slavery 
views, but they dared not open their mouths, be- 
cause of the bitter hostility which prevailed." — 
S. Bourne, Esq. 

" The opinions of the clergymen and mission- 
arieSj with the exception of, I believe, a few cler- 



gymen, were favorable to emancipation ; but neil 
ther in their conduct, preaching, or prayers, dicK 
they declare themselves openly, until the measur^ 
of abolition was determined on. The missiona-; 
ries felt restrained by their instructions from home,' 
and the clergymen thought that it did not com- 
port with their order ' to take part in politics !' I 
never heard of a single planter who was favora- 
ble, until about three months before the emancipa- 
tion took place; when some few of them began to 
perceive that it would be advantageous to their 
interests. Whoever was known, or suspected of) 
being an advocate for freedom, became the object] 
of vengeance, and was sure to suffer, if in" noj 
other way, by a loss of part of his business. My! 
son-in-law,* my son,t and myself, were perhaps' 
the chief marks for calumny and resentment. Tliel 
first was twice elected a member of the Assembly,] 
and as often put out by scrutinies conducted by^ 
the House, in the most flagrantly dishonest man4 
ner. Every attempt was made to deprive the sec-] 
ond of his business, as a lawyer. With regard! 
to myself, I was thrown into prison, without any! 
semblance of justice, without any form of trial,,] 
but in the most summary manner, simply upon \ 
the complaint of one of the justices, and without \ 
any opportunity being allowed me of saying one j 
word in my defence. I remained in jail until dis- i 
charged by ?. peremptory order from the Colonial ' 
Secretary, to whom I appealed." — James Scotland, 
Sen., Esq. 

Another gentleman, a white man, was arrest- 
ed on the charge of being in the interest of the ' 
English Anti-Slavery party, and in a manner ' 
equally summary and. illegal, was cast into prison, j 
and confined there for one year. 

From the foregoing statements we obtain the j 
following comparative view of the past and pres- 
ent state of sentiment in Antigua. , 
Views and conduct of the planters previous to j 
emancipation : i 
1st. rhey regarded the negroes as an inferior | 
race, fit only for slaves. r- 
2d. They regarded them as their rightful prop- 1 
erty. ,, 
3d. They took it for granted that negroes could i 
never be made to work without the use of the : 
whip ; hence, I 
4th. They supposed that emancipation would ,1 
annihilate sugar cultivation ; and, \ 
5th. That it would lead to bloodshed and gen- ' 
eral rebellion. I, 
6th. Those therefore who favored it, were con- |i 
sidered the " enemies of their country" — " trai- 
tors" — and were accordingly persecuted in vari- 
ous ways, not excepting imprisonment in the 
common jail. 

7th. So popular was slavery among the higher 
classes, that its morality or justice could not be 
questioned by a missionary — an editor — or a 
planter even, without endangering tlie safety of 
the individual. 

8th. The anti-slavery people in England were 
considered detestable men, intermeddling with 
matters which they did not understand, and 
which at any rate did not concern them. They 
were accused of being influenced by selfish mo- 
tives, and of designing to further their own in- 
terests by the ruin of the planters. They were 
denounced &s fanatics, incendiaries, knaves, relv- 
sious enthusiasts, 

* T>r. Ferguson, physician in St. John's. 
t James Scotland, Jan., Esq., barrister, proprietor, and 
member of Assembly. 



ANTIGUA. 



51 



9t> The abolition rneasures of the English 
Government were considered a gross outrage on 
the rights of private property, a violation of their 
multiplied pledges of countenance and support, 
and a flagrant usurpation of power over the 
weak. 

Views and conduct of the planters subsequent 
to emancipation : 

1st. The negroes are regarded as men — equals 
standing on the same footing as fellow-citizens. 

2d. Slavery is considered a foolish, impolitic, 
^and wicked system. 

3d. Slaves are regarded as an unsafe species 
of property, and to hold them disgraceful. 

4th. The planters have become the decided 
enemies of slavery. The worst thing they could 
say against the apprenticeship, was, that "it was 
only another name for slavery." 

5th. Tlic abolition of slavery is applauded by 
the planters as one of the most noble and mag- 
nanimous triumphs ever achieved by the British 
government. 

6th. Distinguished abolitionists are spoken of 
in terms of respect and admiration. The English 
Anti-slavery Delegation* spent a fortnight in the 
island, and left it the same day we arrived. 
Wherever we went we heard of them as " the 
respectable gentlemen from England," " the wor- 
thy and intelligent members of the Society of 
Friends," &c. A distinguished agent of the 
English anti-slavery society now resides in St. 
John's, and keeps a bookstore, well slocked with 
anti-slavery books and pamphlets. The bust of 
George Thompson stands conspicuously upon 
the counter of the bookstore, looking forth upon 
the public street. 

Till. The planters affirm that the abolition of 
slavery put an end to all danger from insurrection, 
rebellion, privy conspiracy, and sedition, on the 
part of the slaves. 

8th. Emancipation is deemed an incalculable 
blessing, because it released the planters from an 
endless complication of responsibilities, perplexi- 
ties, temptations and anxieties, and because it 
emancipated them from the bondage of the vjhip. 

9(li. Slavery — emancipation — freedom — are the 
universal topics of conversation in Antigua. 
Anti-slavery is tlie popular doctrine among all 
classes. He is considered an enemy to his coun- 
try who opposes the principles of liberty. The 
planters look with astonishment on the continu- 
ance of slavery in the United States, and express 
their strong belief that it must soon terminate 
here and throughout the world. They hailed the 
arrival of French and American visitors on tours 
of inquiry as a bright omen. In publishing our 
arrival, one of the St. John's papers remarks, 
" We regard this as a pleasing indication that 
the American public have their eyes turned upon 
our experiment, with a view, we may hope, of 
ultimately following our excellent example."(!) 
All classes showed the same readiness to aid us 
in what the Governor was pleased to call " the 
objects of our philanthropic mission." 

Such are the views now entertained among the 
planters of Antigua. What a complete changet 

* Messrs. Sturge and Harvey. 

i The following little story will further 
wonderful revolution which has taken jilac 
Uc sentiment of this colony. The facts h 
occurred while wo were in Antigua, and 
them from a vnriety of authentic sources. 
indeed publicly known and talked of, and 
little excitement throughout the island. 
w- ■< a respectable and fntelligent planter r 



illustrate the 
e in the pub- 
ere stated all 
we procured 
They wore 
produced no 
Mr. Corbett 
esidingon an 



— and all in less than three years, and effected by 
the abolition of slavery and a trial of freedom ! 
Most certainly, if the former views of the Antigua 
planters resemble those held by pro-slavery men 
in this country, their present sentiments are a 
fac simile of those entertained by the immediate 
abolitionists. 

Twenty-first proposition. — Emancipation has 
been followed by a manifest diminution oi^^ pre- 
judice against color" and has opened the prospect 
of its speedy extirpation. 

Some thirty years ago, the president of tlie 
island. Sir Edward Byam, issued an order for- 
bidding the great bell in the cathedral of St. John's 
being tolled at the funeral of a colored person; 
and directing a smaller bell to be hung up in the 
same belfry, and used on such occasions. For 
twenty years this distinction was strictly main- 
tained. When a white person, however vile, 
was buried, the great bell was tolled; when a 
colored person, whatever his moral worth, intelli- 
gence, or station, was carried to his grave, the 
little bell was tinkled. It was not until the arri- 
val of the present excellent Rector, that this " pre- 
judice bell" was silenced. The Rev. Mr. Cox 
informed us that prejudice had greatly decreased 
since emancipation. It was very common for 
white and colored gentlemen to be seen walking 
arm in arm on the streets of St. John's. 

" Prejudice against color is fast disappearing. 
The colored people have themselves contributea 
to prolong this feeling, by keeping aloof from the 
society of the whites." — James Howell, of T. Jar- 
vis's. 

How utterly at variance is this with the com- 
monly received opinion, that the colored people 
are disposed to thrust themselves into the society 
of the whites ! 

"Prejudice against color exists in this com- 
munity only to a limited extent, and that chiefly 
among those who could never bring themselves 
to believe that emancipation would really take 
place. Policy dictates to them the propriety of 
confining any expression of their feelings to those 

estate near Johnson's Point. Several months previous 
to the time of which we now speak, a few colored families 
(emancipated negroes) bought of a white man some 
small parcels of land lying adjacent lo Mr. C.'s estate. 
They planted their lands in provisions, and also built 
them houses thereon, and moved inlo them. After they 
had become actively engaged in cultivating their provi 
sions, Mr. Corbett laid claim to the lands, and ordered the 
negroes to leave them forthwith. 

They of course refused to do so. Mr. C. then flew 
into a violent rage, and stormed and swore, and threaten- 
ed to burn their houses down over their heads. The 
terrified negroes forsook their property and fled. Mr. C. 
then ordered his negroes to tear down their huts and 
burn up the materials — which was accordingly done. 
He also turned in his cattle upon the provision grounds, 
and destroyed thein. The negroes made a complaint 
against Mr. C, and he was arrested and committed tojail 
in St. John's for trial on the charge oi arson. 

We heard of tliis circumstance on the day of Mr. C.'s 
commitment, and we were told that it would probably -^o 
very hard witli him on his trial, and that he would be very 
fortunate if he escaped the gallows or truvsportation. 
A few days after this we were surprised to hear that Mr. 
C. hr.d died in prison. Upon inquiry, we learned that he 
died literally from rage and murtificatlon. His case de- 
fied the skill and power of the physicians. They could 
detect the presence of no disease whatever, even on a 
minute posl-mortem examination. They pronounced it 
as their opinion that he had died Irnm the violence of his 
pas.sions— excited by being imprisoned, together with his 
apprehensions of the fatal issue of the trial. 

Not long before emancipation, Mr. Scotland was impris- 
oned for l,efric7ulivg the negroes. After emancipation, 
Mr. Corbett was imiirisoned for u-rruiging ihcm. 

Mr. Corbett was a resjiectable planter, of good family 
and moved in the lirst cjrcles in the island. 



52 



ANTIGUA. 



of the same opinions. Nothing is shown of this 
prejudice in their intercourse with the colored 
class — it is ' kept behind the scenes' " — Ralph Hig- 
iv^olhom, U. S. Consul. 

Mr. H. was not the only individual standing 
in " high places" who insinuated that the whites 
that still entertained prejudice were ashamed of 
it. His excellency the Governor intimated as 
much, by his repeated assurances for himself and 
his compeers of the first circles, that there was no 
such feeling in the island as prejudice against 
color. The reasons for excluding the colored 
people from their society, he said, were wholly 
diflerent from that. It was chiefly because of 
their illcgiiimac:/, and also because they were not 
sufficiently i-efinod, and because their occwpations 
were of an inferior kind, suQh as mechanical 
trades, small shop keeping, &c. Said he, " You 
would not wish to ask your tailor, or your shoe- 
maker, to dine with youl" However, we were 
too unsophisticated to coincide in his Excellency's 
notions of social propriety. 

Twenty-second proposition. — The progress 
of the anti-slavery discussions in England did 
not cause the masters to treat their slaves worse, 
but on the contrary restrained them from outrage. 

" The treatment of the slaves during the dis- 
cussions in England, was manifestly milder than 
before." — Dr. Daniell. 

" The effect of the proceedings in parliament 
was to make the planters treat their slaves better. 
Milder laws were passed by the assembly, and 
the general condition of the slave was greatly 
ameliorated." — H. Arinstrong, Esq. 

" The planters did not increase the rigor of their 
discipline because of the anti-slavery discussions ; 
but as a general thing, were more lenient than 
formerly." — S. Bourne, Esq. 

" We pursued a much milder policy toward 
our slaves after the agitation began in England." 
—Mr. Jas. Hov-ell. 

" The planters did not treat their slaves worse 
on account of the discussions; but were more 
lenient and circumspect.'" — Letter of Hon. N. Nu- 
gent. 

" There was far less cruelty exes-cised by the 
planters during the anti-slavery excitement in 
Ens-land. They were always on their guard to 
escape the notice of the abolitionists. They did 
not ivish to have their names published abroad, 
and to be exposed as monsters of cnielty !" — David 
Cranstoun, Esq. 

We have now completed our observations upon 
Antigua. It has been our single object in the 
foregoing account to give an accurate statement 
of the results of immediate em.^ncipation. We 
have not taken a single step beyond the limits of 
testimony, and we are persuaded that testimony 
materially conflicting with this, cannot be pro- 
cured from respectable sources in Antigua. We 
now leave it to our readers to decide, whether 
emancipation in Antigua has been to all classes 
in that island a blessing or a curse. 



We cannot pass from this part of our repori 
without recording the kindness and hospitality 
which we everywhere experienced during our so- 
journ in Antigua. Whatever may have been oui 
apprehensions of a cool reception from a commu- 
nity of ex-slaveholders, none of our forebodings 
were realized. It rarely falls to the lot of stran- 
gers visiting a distant land, with none of the con- 
"tingencies of birth, fortune, or fame, to herald their 
arrival, and without the imposing circumstance 
of a popular mission to recommend them, to meet 
with a warmer reception, or to enjoy a more 
hearty confidence, than that with which we were 
honored in the interesting island of Antigua. 
The very object of our visit, humble, and even 
odious as it may appear in the eyes of many of 
our own countrymen, was our passport to the 
consideration and attention of the higher classes 
in that free colony. We hold in grateful remem- 
brance the interest which all — not excepting those 
most deeply implicated in the late system of 
slavery — manifested in our investigations. To 
his excellency the Governor, to officers both civil 
and military, to legislators and judges, to propri- 
etors and planters, to physicians, barristers, and 
mercliants, to clergymen, missionaries, and teach- 
ers, we are indebted for their uniform readiness 
in furthering our objects, and for the mass of in- 
formation with which they were pleased to fur- 
nish us. To the free colored population, also, we 
are lasting debtors for their hearty co-operation 
and assistance. To the emancipated, we recog- 
nise our obligations as the friends of the slave, 
for their simple-hearted and reiterated assurances 
that they should remember the oppressed of our 
land in their prayers to God. In the name of the 
multiplying hosts of freedom's friends, and in 
behalf of the millions of speechless but grateful- 
hearted slaves, we tender to our acquaintances of 
every class in Antigua our warmest thanks for 
their cordial sympathy with the cause of emanci- 
pation in America. We left Antigua with re- 
gret. The natural advantages of that lovely 
island; its climate, situation, and scenery; the 
intelligence and hospitality of the higher orders, 
and the simplicity and sobriety of the poor ; the 
prevalence of education, morality, and religion ; 
its solemn Sabbaths and thronged sanctuaries; 
and above all, its rising institutions of liberty- 
flourishing so vigorously, — conspire to make An- 
tigua one of the fairest portions of the earth. 
Formerly it was in our eyes but a speck on the 
world's map, and little had we recked if an earth- 
quake had sunk, or the ocean had overwhelmed 
it; but now, the minute circumstances in its con- 
dition, or little incidents in its history, are to our 
minds invested with grave interest. 

None, who are alive to the cause of religious 
freedom in the world, can be indifferent to the 
movemenis and destiny of this little colony. 
Henceforth, Antigua is the morning star of our 
nation, and though it glimmers faintly through a 
lurid sky, yet we hail it, and catch at every ray 
as the token of a bright sun which may yet burst 
gloriously upon us. 



BARBADOES. 



CHAPTER I. 

PASSAGE. 

Barbadoes was the next island which we vis- 
ted. Having failed of a passage in the steam- 
r,* (on account of her leaving Antigua on the 
labbath,) we were reduced to the necessity of sail- 
ng in a small schooner, a vessel of only seventeen 
ons burthen, with no cabin but a mere hole, 
carcely large enough to receiye our baggage. 
The berths, for there were two, had but one'inat- 
•ess between them ; however, a foresail folded 
nade up the complement. 

The wind being for the most part directly 
iguinstus, we were seven days in reaching Barba- 
loes. Our aversion to the sepulchre-like cabin 
obliged us to spend, not the days only, but the 
aights mostly on the open deck. Wrapping our 
cloaks about us, and drawing our fur caps over 
our faces, we slept securely in the soft air of a 
tropical clime, undisturbed save by the hoarse 
voice of the black captain crying '■ ready, bout " 
and the flapping of tlie sails, and the creaking of 
the cordage, in the frequent tackings of our staunch 
little sea-boat. On our way we passed under thelee 
of Guadaloupeandtothe windward of Dominica, 
Martinique, and St. Lucia, in. passing Guada- 
loupe, we were obliged to keep at a league's dis- 
tance from the land, in obedience to an express 
regulation of that colony prohibiting small English 
vessels from approaching any nearer. This is a 
precautionary measure against the escape of 
slaves to the English islands. Numerous 
sm'^Il vessels, called guarda castas, are stationed 
around the coast to warn off vessels and seize 
upon all slaves attempting to make their escape. 
We were informed that the eagerness of the 
French negroes to taste the sweets of liberty, 
which they hear to e.vi.st in the surrounding English 
islands, is so great, that notwithstanding all the 
vigilance by land and sea, they are escaping in 
vast numbers. They steal to the shores by ni|ht, 
and seizing upon any sort of vessel within their 
rcacn, launch forth and make for Dominica 
Moiitserrat, or Antigua. They have been known 
to venture out in skiffs, canoes, and such like haz- 
ardous conveyances, and make a voyage of fifty 
or si.\ty miles ; and it is not without reason sup- 
posed, tliat very many have been lost in these ea- 
ger darings for freedom. 

Such is their defiance of dangers when librrtv 
IS to be won, that old ocean, with its wild storms 
and fierce monsters, and its yawning deep and 
even the superadded terrors of armed vessels ever 
ho^•enng around ihe island, are barriers altogether 
ineffectual to prevent escape. The western side 
ot bruadrdoupe, along which we passed, is hilly 
and httle cultivated. It is mostly occupied in 
pasturage. The sugar estates are on the opposite 
Side of the island, which stretches out eastward 
m a low sloping country, beautifully situated for 
sugar cultivation. The hills were covered with 
n-ee.s with here and there small patches of cul i- 

Tfj'^'-'f" V' '^^' "'Sroes raise provisions. 
A deep rich verdure covered all that portion of the 

.ntennediateaid .urrouncling islands, a^d'c^an^l"^' [Li 



island which we saw. We were a day and night 
in passing the long island of Guadaloupe. An- 
other day and night were spent in beating 
through the channel between Guadaloupe and Do- 
minica: another day in passing the latter island, 
and then we stood for Martinique. This is the 
queen island of the French West Indies. It is 
fertile and healthful, and though not so large as 
Guadaloupe, produces a larger revenue It has 
large streams of water, and many of the sugar 
mills are worked by them. Martinique and Do- 
minica are both very mountainous. Their highest 
peaks are constantly covered with clouds, which 
in their varied shiftings, now wheeling around, 
then rising or falling, give the hills the appearance 
of smoking volcanoes. It was not until the 
eighth day of the voyage, that we landed at Bar- 
badoes. The passage from Barbadoes to Antigua 
seldom occupies more than three days, the wind 
being mostly in that direction. 

In approaching Barbadoes, it presented an en- 
tirely different appearance from that of the islands 
we had passed on the way. It is low and level, 
almost wholly destitute of trees. As we drew 
nearer we discovered in every direction the marks 
of its extraordinary cultivation. The cane fields 
and provision grounds in alternate patches cover 
the island with one continuous mantle of green. 
The mansions of the planters, and the clusters of 
negro houses, appear at short intervals dotting 
the face of the island, and giving to it the appear- 
ance of a vast village interspersed with verdant 
gardens. 

We " rounded up" in the bay, off Bridgetown, 
the principal place in Barbadoes, where we un- 
derwent a searching examination by the health 
oflSicer; who, after some demurring, concluded 
that we might pass muster. We took lodgings 
in Bridgetown with Mrs. M., a colored lady. 

The houses are mostly built of brick or stone, 
or wood plastered. They are seldom more than 
two stories high, with flat roofs, and huge win- 
dow shutters and doors — the structures of a hur- 
ricane country. The streets are narrow and 
crooked, and formed of white marie, which re- 
flects the sun with a brilliancy half blinding to 
the eyes. Most of the buildings are occupied as 
stores below and dwelling houses above, with 
piazzas to the upper story, which jut over the nar- 
row streets, and aflford a shade for the side walks. 
The population of Bridgetown is about 30,n00. 
The population of tlie island is about 140 000 of 
whom nearly 90,000 are apprentices, tlie re- 
mainder are free colored and white in the pro- 
portion of 30,000 free colored and 20,000 
whites. This large population exisis on' an 
island not more than twenty miles long bv fif- 
teen broad. The whole island is under the 'most 
vigorous and systematic culture. There is 
scarcely a foot of productive land that is not 
brought into requisition. There is no such Iliin°- 
as a forest of any extent in the island. It is ihut 
that, notwithstanding the insignificance of its 
size, Barbadoes ranks among the British islands 
next to Jamaica in value and importance It was 
on account of its conspicuous standing amon- the 
i^njiish colonies, that we were indu^^ed to visit it 
and there investigate the operations of the appren- 
ticeship system. ^^ 



54 



BARBADOES. 



Our principal object in the following pages is 
to give an account of the working of the appren- 
ticeship system, and to present it in contrast with 
that of entire freedom, which has been described 
minutely in our account of Antigua. The ap- 
prenticeship was designed as a sort of preparation 
for freedom. A statement of its results will, 
therefore, afford no small data for deciding upon 
the general principle o^ gradualism ! 

We shall pursue a plan less labored and pro- 
lix than that which it seemed necessary to adopt 
in treating of Antigua. As that part of the testi- 
mony which respects the abolition of slavery, and 
the sentiments of the planters is substantially the 
same with what is recorded in the foregoing 
pages, we shall be content with presenting it in 
the sketch of our travels throughout the island, 
and our interviews with various classes of men. 
The testimony respecting the nature and opera- 
tions of the apprenticeship system, will be embo- 
died in a more regular form. 

VISIT TO THE GOVERNOR. 

At an early day after our arrival we called on 
the Governor, in pursuance of the etiquette of the 
island, and in order to obtain the assistance of 
his Excellency in our inquiries. The present 
Governor is Sir Evan John Murray McGregor, 
a Scotchman of high reputation. He is the pres- 
ent chieftain of the McGregor clan, which figures 
so illustriously in the history of Scotland. Sir 
Evan has been distinguished for his bravery in 
war, and he now bears the title of Knight, for 
his achievements in the British service. He is 
Governor-General of the windward islands, which 
include Barbadoes, Grenada, St. Vincent's, and 
Tobago. The government house, at which he re- 
sides, is about two miles from town. The road 
leading to it is a delightful one, lined with cane 
fields, and pasture grounds, alt verdant with the 
luxuriance of midsummer. It passes by the cathe- 
dral, the king 's house, the noble residence of the 
Archdeacon, and many other fine mansions. The 
government house is situated on a pleasant emi- 
nence, and surrounded with a large garden, park, 
and entrance yard. At the large outer gate, 
which gives admittance to the avenue leading to 
the house, stood a black sentinel in his military 
d^-'^s. and with a gun on his shoulder, pacing to 
.■ ■ ■ fro. At the door of the house we found an- 
oiiier black soldier on guard. We were ushered 
into the dining hall, wliich seems to serve as ante- 
chamber when not otiierwise used. It is a spa- 
cious airy room, overhung with chandeliers and 
lamps in profusion, and bears the marks of many 
scenes of mirth and wassail. The eastern win- 
dows, which extend from the ceiling to the floor, 
look out upon a garden filled with shrubs and 
flowers, among which we recognised a rare va- 
riety of the floral family in full bloom. Every 
thing around — the extent of the buildings, the 
garden, the park, with deer browsing amid the 
tangled shrubbery — all bespoke the old English 
style and dignity. 

After waiting a few minutes, we were intro- 
duced to his Excellency, who received us very 
kindly. He conversed freely on the subject of 
emancipation, and gave his opinion decidedly in 
favor of unconditional freedom. He has been in the 
West Indies five years, and resided at Antigua 
and Dominica before he received his present ap- 
pointment ; he has visited several other islands 
besides. In no island that he has visited have 
affairs gone on so quietly and satisfactorily to all 



parties as in Antigua. He remarked that he was 
ignorant of the character of the black population 
of the United States, but from what he knew of 
their character in the West Indies, he could not 
avoid the conclusion that immediate emancipation 
was entirely safe. He expressed his views of 
the apprenticeship system with great freedom. 
He said it was vexatious to all parties. 

He remarked that he was so well satisfied that 
emancipation was safe and proper, and that un- 
conditional freedom was better than apprentice- 
ship, that had he the power, he would emancipate 
every apprentice to-morrow. It would be better 
both for the planter and the laborer. 

He thought the negroes in Barbadoes, and in the 
windward isla^ids generally, were as luell pre- 
pared for freedom as the slaves of Antigua. 

The Governor is a dignified but plain man, of 
sound sense and judgment, and of remarkable 
liberality. He promised to give us every assist- 
ance, and said, as we arose to leave him, that he 
would mention the object of our visit to a number 
of influential gentlemen, and that we should 
shortly hear from him again. 

A few days after our visit to the Governor's, we 
called on the Rev. Edward Elliott, the Archdea- 
con at Barbadoes, to whom we had been previ- 
ously introduced at the house of a friend in 
Bridgetown. He is a liberal-minded man. In 
1832, he delivered a series of lectures in the ca- 
thedral on the subject of slavery. The planters be- 
came alarmed — declared that such discourses 
would lead to insurrection, and demanded that 
they should be abandoned. He received anony- 
mous letters threatening him with violence unless 
he discontinued them. Nothing daunted, how- 
ever, he went through the course, and afterwards 
published the lectures in a volume. 

The Archdeacon infonned us that the nimiber 
of churches and clergymen had increased since 
emancipation ; religious meetings were more 
fully attended, and the instructions given had 
manifestly a greater influence. Increased atten- 
tion was paid to education also. Before emanci- 
pation the planters opposed education, and as far 
as possible, prevented the teachers from coming 
to the estates. Now they encourage it in many 
instances, and where they do not directly encour- 
age, they make no opposition. He said that the 
number of marriages had very much increased 
since the abolition of slavery. He had resided 
in Barbadoes for twelve years, during which 
time he had repeatedly visited many of the neigh- 
boring islands. He thought the negroes of Barba- 
does were as well prepared for freedom in 1834, 
as those of Antigua, and that there would have 
been no bad results had entire emancipation been 
granted at that time. He did not think there was 
the least danger of insurrection. On this subject 
he spoke the sentiments of the inhabitants gene- 
rally. He did not suppose there were five plant- 
ers on the island, who entertained any fears on 
this score now. 

On one other point the Archdeacon expressed 
himself substantially thus : The planters undoubt- 
edly treated their slaves better during the anti- 
slavery discussions in England. 

The condition of the slaves was very much 
mitigated by the efforts which were made for 
their entire freedom. The planters soflened down 
the system of slavery as much as possible. They 
were exceedingly anxious to put a stop to discus- 
sion and investigation. 
Having obtained a letter of introduction from 



UARB ADOES. 



nn American merchant here to a planter residing 
about four miles from town, we drove out to his 
estate. His mansion is pleasantly situated on a 
small eminence, in one of the coolest and most in- 
vitin<^ retreats which is to be seen in this hot 
clime^ and we were received by its master with 
all the cordiality and frankness for which Barba- 
does is famed. He introduced us to his family, 
consisting of three daughters and two sons, and 
invited us to slop to dinner. One of his daugh- 
ters, nov/ here on a visit, is married to an Ameri- 
,n, a native of New York, but now a merchant in 
e'of the southern states, and our connection as ffl- 
w countrymen with one dear to them, was an 
ditional claim to their kindness and hospitality. 
He conducted us through all the works and out- 
buildings, the mill, boiling-house, curing-house, 
hospital, store-houses, &c. The people were at 
work in the mill and boiling-house, and as we 
passed, bowed and bade us " good mornin', mas- 
sa," with the utmost respect and cheerfulness. 
A white overseer was regulating the work, but 
wanted the insignia of slaveholding authority, 
which he had borne for many years, the whip. As 
we came out, we saw in a neighboring field a 
gang of seventy apprentices, of both sexes, en- 
gaged in cutting up the cane, while others were 
throwing it into carts to be carried to the mill. 
Tiiey were all as quietly and industriously at 
work as any body of our own farmers or me- 
chanics. As we were looking at them, Mr. C, 
the planter, remarked, " those people give me more 
work than when slaves. This estate was never 
under so good cultivation as at the present time." 
He took us to the building used as the mechan- 
ics' shop. Several of the apprentices were at 
work in it, some setting up the casks for sugar, 
others repairing utensils. Mr. C. says all the 
work of the estate is done by the apprentices. 
His carts are made, his mill kept in order, his 
coopering and blacksmithing are all done by 
them. '• All these buildings," said he, " even to 
the dwelling-house, were built after the great 
storm of 1831, by the slaves." 

As we were passing through the hospital, or 
sick-house, as it is called by the blacks, Mr. C. 
told us h° had very little use for it now. There 
is no skulking to it as there was under the old 
system. 

Just as we were entering the door of the house, 
on our return, there was an outcry among a small 
party of the apprentices v/ho were working near 
by. Mr. C. went to them and inquired the cause, 
ft appeared that the overseer had struck one of 
the lads with a stick. Mr. C. reproved him se- 
verely for the act, and assured him if he did such a 
thing ao-ain he would take him before a magistrate. 
During the day we gathered the following in- 
formation : — 

Mr. C. had been a planter for thirty-six years. 
He has had charge of the estate on which he now 
resides ten years. He is the attorney for two 
other large estates a ?ew miles from this, and has 
under his superintendence, in all, more than a 
thousand apprenticed laborers. This estate con- 
sists of si.K hundred and sixty-six acres of land, 
most of which is under cultivation either in cane 
or provisions, and has on it three hundred appren- 
tices and ninety-two free children. The average 
amount of sugar raised on it is two hundred hogs- 
heads of a ton each, but this year it will amount 
to at least two hundred and fifty hogsheads — the 
largest crop ever taken ofi' since he has been con- 
nected with it. He has planted thirty acres addi- 



tional this year. The island has never been un- 
der so good cultivation, and is becoming better 
every year. 

During our walk round the works, and during 
the day, he spoke several times in general terms 
of the great blessings of emancipation. 
' Emancipation is as great a blessing to the 
master as to the slave. " Why," exclaimed Mr. 
C, "it was emancipation to me. I assure you 
the first of August brought a great, great relief to 
me. I felt myself, for the first tinn', a freeman on 
that day. You cannot imagine the responsibili- 
ties and anxieties which were swept away with 
the extinction of slavery." 

There were many unpleasant and annoying 
circumstances attending slavery, which had a 
most pernicious effect on the master. There was 
continual jealousy and suspicion between him and 
those under him. They looked on each other as 
sworn enemies, and there was kept up a continual 
system of plotting and counterplotting. Then 
there was the flogging, which was a matter of 
course through the island. To strike a slave was 
as common as to strike a horse — then the punish- 
ments were inflicted so unjustly, in innumerable 
instances, that the poor victims knew no more 
why they were punished than the dead in their 
graves. The master would be a little ill — he had 
taken a cold, perhaps, and felt irritable — some- 
thing went wrong — his passion was up, and away 
went some poor fellow to the whipping-post. The 
slightest offence at such a moment, though it might 
have passed unnoticed at another time, would 
meet with the severest punishment. He said he 
himself had more than once ordered his slaves to 
be flogged in a passion, and after he became cool 
he would have given guineas not to have done it. 
Many a night had he" been kept awake in think- 
ing of some poor fellow whom -he had shut up in 
the dungeon, and had rejoiced when daylight 
came. He feared lest tlie slave might die before 
morning; either cut his throat or dash his head 
against the wall in his desperation. He has 
known such cases to occur. 

The apprenticeship will not have so beneficial 
an effect as he hoped it would, on account of an 
indisposition on the part of many of the planters 
to abide by its regulations. The planters gene- 
rally are doing very little to prepare the appren- 
tices for freedom, but some are doing very much 
to unprepare them. They are driving the people 
from them by their conduct. 

Mr. C. said he often wished for emancipation- 
There were several other planters among his ac- 
quaintance who had the same feelings, but did not 
dare express them. Most of the planters, how- 
ever, were violently opposed. Many of them de- 
clared that emancipation could not and should not 
take place. So obstinate were they, that they 
would have sworn on the 31st of July, 1834, that 
emancipation could not happen. These very men 
?ww see and acknoioledge the bsiiejits which have 
resulted from the new system. 

The first of August passed off very quietly. 
The people laboredon that day as usual, and had 
a stranger gone over the island, he would not have 
suspected any change had taken place. Mr. C. 
did not expect his people would go to work that 
day. He told them what the conditions of the 
new system were, and that after the first of Au- 
gust, they would be required to turn out to work 
at six o'clock instead of five o'clock, as before. At 
the appointed hour every man was at his post in 
the field. Not one individual was missing. 



56 



BARBADOES. 



The apprentices do more work in the nine hours 
required by law, than in twelve hours during 
slavery. 

His apprentices are perfectly willing to work 
for him during their own time. He pays them at 
the rate of twenty-five cents a day. The people 
are less quarrelsome than when they were slaves. 
About eight o'clock in the eveniuic, Mr. C. in- 
vited us to step out into the piazza. Pointing to the 
houses of the laborers, which were crowded thickly 
together, and almost concealed by the cocoanut 
and calabash trees around them, he said, " there 
are probably more than four hundred people in 
that village. All my own laborers, with their free 
children, are retired for the night, and with them 
arc many from the neighboring estates." We 
listened, but all was still, save here and there a 
low whistle from some of the watchmen. He said 
that night was a specimen of every night now. 
But it had not always been so. During slavery 
these villages were oftentimes a scene of bickering, 
revelry, and contention. One might hear the in- 
mates reveling and shouting till midnight. Some- 
times it would be kept up till morning. Such 
scenes have much decreased, and instead of the 
obscene and heathen songs which they used to 
sing, they are learning hymns from the lips of their 
children. 

Th3 apprentices are more trusty. They are 
more faithful in work which is given them to do. 
They take more interest in the prosperity of the 
estate generally, in seeing that things are kept in 
order, and that the property is not destroyed. 

They are more open-hearted. Formerly they 
used to shrink before the eyes of the master, and 
appear afraid to meet him. They would go out 
of their way to avoid him, and never were willing 
to talk with him. They never liked to have him 
visit their houses ;' they looked on him as a spy, 
and always expected a reprimand, or perhaps a 
flogging. Now they look up cheerfully when 
they meet him, and a visit to their homes is es- 
teemed a favor. Mr. C. nas more confidence in 
his people than he ever had before. 

There is less theft than during slavery. This 
is caused by greater respect for character, and the 
protection afforded to property by law. For a 
slave to steal from his master was never consid- 
,.,-d wrong, but rather a meritorious act. He who 
. ^;d rob the most without being detected was the 
best fellow.- The blacks in .several of the islands 
have a proverb, that for a thief to steal from a 
thief makes God laugh. 

The blacks have a great respect for, and even 
fear of law. Mr. C. Relieves no people on earth 
are more influenced by it. They regard the same 
punishment, inflicted by a magistrate, much more 
than when inflicted by their master. Law is a 
kind of deity to them, and they regai'd it with 
great reverence and awe. 

There is no insecurity now. Before emancipa- 
tion there was a continual fear of insurrection. 
Mr. C. said he had lain down in bed many a 
night fearing that his throat would be cut before 
morning. He has started up often from a dream 
in which he thought his room was filled with 
armed slaves. But when the abolition bill passed, 
his fears all passed away. He felt assured there 
would be no trouble then. The motive to insur- 
rection was taken away. As for the cutting of 
throats, or insult and violence in any way, he 
never suspects it. He never thinks of fastening 
his door at night now. As we were retiring to 
Ted he looked round the room in which we had 



been sitting, where every thing spoke of serenity 
and confidence— doors and windows open, and 
books and plate scattered about on the tables and 
sideboards. "You see things now," he said, 
'just as we leave them every night, but you 
would have seen quite a different scene had you 
come here a few years ago." 

Mr. C. thinks the slaves of Barbadoes mish: 
have been entirely and immediatehi emancipateiSi 
as well as those of Antigua. The results, he 
doubts not, would have been the same. 

He has no fear of disturbance or insubordina- 
tion in 1840. He has no doubt that the people 
will work. That there may be a little unsettled, 
excited, experimenting feeling for a short time, he 
thinks probable— but feels confident that things 
generally will move on peaceably and pn^sperous- 
ly. He looks with much more anxiety to the em- 
ancipation of the non-predials in 1838. ' 

There is no disposition among the apprentices 
to revenge their wrongs. Mr. C. feels the utmost 
security both of person and property. 

The slaves were very much excited by the dis- 
cussions in England. They were well acquainted 
with them, and looked and longed for the result. 
They watched every arrival of the packet with 
great anxiety. The people on his estate often 
knew Its arrival before he did. One of his daugh- 
ters remarked, that she could see their hopes flash- 
ing from their eyes. They manifested, however, 
no disposition to rebel, waiting in anxious but 
quiet hope for their release. Yet Mr. C. had no 
doubt, that if parliament, had thrown out the 
emancipation bill, and all measures had ceased for 
their relief, there would have been a general insur- 
rection. — While there was hope they remained 
peaceable, but had hope been destroyed it would 
have been buried in blood. 

There was some dissatisfaction among the 
blacks with the apprenticeship. They thought 
they ought to be entirely free, and that their mas- 
ters were deceiving them. They could not at first 
understand the conditions of the new system — 
there was some murmuring among them, but they 
thought it better, however, to wait six years for 
the boon, than to run the risk of losing it altogeth- 
er by revolt. 

The expenses of the apprenticeship are about 
the same as during slaveiy. But under the free 
system, Mr. C. has no doubt they will be much 
less. He has made a calculation of the expenses 
of cultivating the estate on which he resides for 
one year during slavery, and what they will prob- 
ably be for one year under the free system. He 
finds the latter are less by about ^3,000. 

Real estate has increased in value more than 
thirty per cent. There is' greater confidence in the 
security of property. Instances were related to us 
of estates that could not be sold at any price before 
emancipation, that within the last two years have 
been disposed of at great prices. 

The complaints to the magistrates, on the part 
of the planters, were very numerous at first, but 
have greatly diminished. They are of the most 
trivial and even ludicrous character. One of the 
magistrates says the greater part of the cases 
that come before him are from old women who 
cannot get their coffee early enough in the morn- 
ing ! and for offences of equal importance. 

Prejudice has much diminished since emancipa- 
tion. The discussions in England prior to that 
period had done much to soften it down, but the 
abolition of slavery has given it its death blow. 
Such is a rapid sketch of tb ft various topicB 



BARBADOES. 



57 



tOBclied upon during our interview with Mr. C. 

sBid his family. 

Before we left the hospitable mansion of Leai^s, 
we had the plea-.ure of meeting a company of gen- 
tli .lien at dinner. With the exception of one, 
who was provost-marshal, they were merchants 
of Bridgetown. These gentlemen expressed their 
full concurrence in the statements of Mr. C, and 
-avo additional testimony equally valuable. 

Mr. W., the provost-marshaf, stated that he 
had the supervision of thepublic jail, and enjoyed 
the best opportunity of knowing the state of crime, 
ajid he was confident that there was a less amount 
ajf crime since emancipation than before He also 
«)oke of the increasing attention which the ne- 
|roes paid to neatness of dress and personal ap- 
pearance. 

The company broke up about nine o'clock, but 
not until we had seen ample evidence of the friend- 
ly feelings of all the gentlemen toward our object. 
There was not a single dissenting voice to any of 
the siatements made, or any of the sentiments ex- 
pressed. This fact shows that the prevailing feel- 
ing is in fovor of freedom, and that too on the 
score of policy and self-interest. 

Dinner parties are in one sense a very safe pulse 
in all matters of general intei-est. They rarely 
beat faster than the heart of the community. No 
subject is likely to be introduced amid the festivi- 
ties of a fashionable circle, until it is fully endor- 
sed by public sentiment. 

Through the urgency of Mr. C, we were in- 
luced to remain all night. Early the next morn- 
ing, jie proposed a ride befure breakfast to Scotland. 
Scotland is the name given to an abrupt, hilly sec- 
tion, in the north of'the island. It is about five 
iiilesfiom Mr. C.'s, and nine from Bridgetown. 
In approaching, the prospect bursts suddenly upon 
he eye, extorting an involuntary exclamation of 
Hirprise. After riding for miles, through a coun- 
ry which gradually swells into sliglit elevations, or 
sweeps away in rolling plains, covered with cane, 
/•ams, potatoes, eddoes, corn, and grass, alternate- 
y, and laid out with the regularity of a garden ; 
ifter admiring the cultivation, beauty, and skill 
exhibited on every hand, until almost wearied 
vith viewing the creations of art ; the eye at once 
alls upon a scene in which is crowded all the 
wildness and abruptness of nature in one of her 
nost freakish moods— a scene which seems to defy 
he. hand of cultivation and the graces of art. 
We ascended a hill on the border of this section' 
vhich aflforded us a complete view. To describe 
t in one sentence, it is an immense basin, from 
^vo to three miles in diameter at the top, the'edges 
)f which are composed of ragged hills, and the 
lides and bottom of which arc diversified with 
nyriads of little hillocks and corresponding in- 
lentations. Here and there is a small sugar es- 
ate in the bottom, and cultivation extends some 
listance up the sides, though this is at consider- 
ible risk, tor not unfrequently, large tracts of soil, 
covered with cane or provisions, slide down, over- 
ipreading the crops below, and destroying' those 
which they carry wuhthem. 

Mr. C. pointed to the opposite side of the basin 
;o a small group of stunted trees, which he said 
were the last remains of the Barbadoes forests. 
In the midst of them there is a boiling sprino- of 
considerable notoriety. "^ 

In another direction, amid the rugged precipices, 
Mr. C. pointed out the residences of a number of 
poor white families, whom he described as the 
most degraded, vicious, and abandoned people in 



the island — " very far below the negroes." They 
live promiscuously, are drunken, licentious, and 
poverty-stricken, — a body of most squalid and 
miserable human beings. 

From the height on which we stood, we could 
see the ocean nearly around the island, and on our 
right and left, overlooking the basin belov.- us, 
rose the two highest points of land of which Bar- 
badoes can boast. The white marl about their 
naked tops gives them a bleak and desolate ap- 
pearance, which contrasts gloomily with the ver- 
dure of the surrounding cultivation. 

After we had fully gratified ourselves with 
viewing the miniature representation of old Sco- 
tia, we descended again into the road, and return- 
ed to Lear's. We passed numbers of men and 
women going towards town with loads of various 
kinds of provisions on their heads. Some were 
black, and others were white — of the same class 
whose huts had just been shown us amid the hills 
and ravines of Scotland. We observed that the 
latter were barefoot, and carried their loads on 
their heads precisely like the former. As we pass- 
ed these busy pedestrians, the blacks almost uni- 
formly courtesied or spoke; but the whites did not 
appear to notice us. Mr. C. inquired whether we 
were not struck with this difference in the conduct 
of the two people, remarking that he had always 
observed it. It is very seldom, said he, that I 
meet a negro who does not speak to me politely ;■ 
but this class of whites either pass along without 
looking up, or cast a half vacant, rude stare into 
one's face, without opening their mouths. Yet this 
people, he added, veriest raggamuffins as they arc, 
despise the negroes, and consider it quite degra- 
ding to put themselves on terms of equality with 
them. They will beg of blacks more provident 
and industrious than themselves, or they will steal 
their poultry and rob their provision grounds at 
night ; but they would disdain to associate Vi'itli 
them. Doubtless these sa'ns culottes swell in their 
dangling rags with the haughty consciousness that 
they possess ^chite skins. What proud reflections 
they must have, as they pursue their barefoot way, 
thinking on their high lineage, and running back 
through the long line of their illustrious ancestry, 
whose notable badge was a v:hitc skin! INo 
wonder thej' cannot stop to bow to the passing 
stranger. These sprouts of the Caucasian race 
are known among the Barbadians by tlie rather 
ungracious name of Red t'lmnls. They are con- 
sidered the pest of the island, and are far more 
troublesome to the police, in proportion to their 
numbers, than the apprentices. They are esti- 
mated at about eight thousand. 

The origin of Ihis population we learned was 
the following: It has long been a law in Barba- 
does, that each proprietor should provide a while 
man for every sixty slaves in his possession, and 
give him an acre of land, a house, and arms re- 
quisite for defence of the island in case of insur- 
rection. This caused an importation of poor 
whites from Ireland and England, and their num- 
ber has been gradually increasing until the present 
time. 

During our stay of nearly two days with Mr. 
C, there was nothing to which he so often alluded 
as to the security from danc'er which was now 
enjoyed by the planters. As he sat in his parlor, 
surrounded by his affectionate family, the sense 
of personal and domestic security appeared to be 
a luxury to him. He repeatedly expressed him- 
self substantially thus: " During the existence of 
slavery, iiow often have I retired to bed fearing 



58 



BARBADOES, 



that I should have my throat cut before morning, 
but noil) the clanger is all over." 

We took leave of Lear's, after a protracted visit, 
not without a pressing invitation from Mr. C. to 



call again. 



SECOND VISIT TO LEAR S. 



The following week, on Saturday afternoon, 
Ave received a note from Mr. C, inviting us to 
spend the Sabbath at Lear's, where we might 
attend service at a neighboring chapel, and see a 
congregation composed chiefly of apprentices. 
On our arrival, we received a welcome from the 
residents, which reassured us of their sympathy 
in our object. "We joined the family circle around 
the centre table, and spent the evening in free con- 
versation on the .subject of slavery. 

During the evening Mr. C. stated, that he had 
lately met with a planter who, for some years pre- 
vious to emancipation, and indeed up to the very 
event, maintained that it was utterly impossible 
for such a thing ever to take place. The mother 
country, he said, could not be so mad as to take a 
step which must inevitably ruin the colonies. 
NoK, said Mr. C, this planter would be one of 
the last in the island to vote for a restoration of 
slavery ; nay, he even wishes to have the appren- 
ticeship terminated at once, and entire freedom 
given to the people. Such changes as this were 
very common. 

Mr. C. remarked that during slavery, if the ne- 
gro ventured to express an opinion about any 
point of management, he was met at once with a 
reprimand. If one should say, " I think such a 
course would be best," or, " Sucli a field of cane is 
fit for cutting," the reply would be, " Think! you 
have no right to think any thing about it. Do as 
Ibid you." Mr. C. confessed frankly, tliat he had 
often used such language himself. Yet at the 
same time that he affected such contempt for the 
opinions of the slaves, he used to go around se- 
cretly among the negro houses at night to over- 
hear their conversation, and ascertain their views. 
Sometimes he received very valuable suggestions 
from them, which he was glad to avail himself of, 
though he was cax-eful not to acknowledge their 
origin. 

Soon after supper. Miss E., one of Mr. C.'s 
daughters, retired for the purpose of teaching a 
class of colored children which came to her 
on Wednesday and Saturday nights. A sis- 
ter of Miss E. has a class on the same days at 
noon. 

During the evening we requested the favor of 
seeing Miss E.'s .school. We were conducted by 
a flight of stairs into the basement story, where 
we found her sitting in a small recess, and sur- 
rounded by a dozen negro girls, from the ages of 
eight to fifteen. She was instructing them from 
the Testament, which most of them could read 
fluently. She afterwards heard them recite some 
passages which they had committed to memory, 
and interspersed the recitations with appropriate 
remarks of advice and exhortation. 

It is to be remarked that MissE. commenced in- 
structing after the abolition ; before that event the 
idea of such an employment would have been re- 
jected as degrading. 

At ten o'clock on Sabbath morning, we drove 
to the chapel of the parish, which is a mile and a 
half from Lear's. It contains seats for five hun- 
dred persons. The body of tlie house is appro- 
priated to the apprentices. There were upwards 
«f four handred pe;rsons, mostly apprentices, pres- 



ent, and a more quiet and attentive congregatior 
we Lave seldom seen. The people were neatly 
dressed. A great number of the men wore black 
or blue cloth. The females were generally dress- 
ed in white. Tiie choir was composed entirely 
of blacks, and sung with characteristic excellence. 

There was so much intelligence in the counte- 
nances of the people, that we could scarcely be- 
lieve we were looking on a congregation of latelyi 
emancipated slaves. ' " I 

We returned to Lear's. Mr. C. noticed the 
change which has taken place in the observance of 
the Sabbath since emancipation. Formerly the 
smoke would be often seen at this time of day 
pouring from the chimneys of the boiling-houses ; 
but such a sight has not been seen since slavery 
disappeared. 

Sunday used to be the day for the negroes to 
work on their grounds ; now it is a rare thing for > 
them to do so. Sunday markets also prevailed > 
throughout the island, until the abolition of slavery.] 

Mr. C. continued to speak of slavery. " I some- 
times wonder," said he, '' at myself, when I think! 
how long I was connected with slavery ; but self- 
interest and custom blinded me to its enormities." 
Taking a short walk towards sunset, we found 
ourselves on the margin of a beautiful pond, in 
which myriads of small gold fishes were di.sport- 
ing — now circling about in rapid evolutions, and 
anon leaping above the surface, and displaying 
their brilliant sides in the rays of the setting sun. 
When we had watched for some moments thrir 
happy gambols, Mr. C. turned around and broke 
a twig from a bush that stood behind us; "there. 
is a bush" sviiA he, '^ which has conwiitted viamj\ 
a 7iiurder." On requesting him to explain, he 
said, that the root of it was a most deadly poison, 
and that the slave women used to make a decoc- 
tion of it and give to their infants to destroy them ; 
many a child had been murdered in this way 
Mothers v/ould kill their children, rather than se 
ihem grow lip lobe slaves. " Ah," he continued, 
in a solemn tone, pausing a moment and looking 
at us in a most earnest manner, " I could write a 
book about the evils of slavery. I could wiiie a 
book' about these things." 

What a volume of blackness and blood !* 

When we arose on Monday morning, the day- 
light had scarcely broken. On looking out of the 
window, we saw the mill slowly moving in the 
wind, and the field gang were going out to their 
daily work. Surely, we thought, this does not look 
m.uch like the laziness and insubordination of 
freed negroes. After dressing, we walked dowij 
to the mill, to have some conversation with the 
people. They all bade us a cordial" good morn-' 
in'." The tender of the mill was an old man, 
v/hose despised locks were gray and thin, and on 
whose brow the hands of time and sorrow had 
written many effaceless lines. He appeared hale 
and cheerful, and answered our questions in dis- 
tinct intelligible language. We asked him how 
they were all getting along under the new system. 
" Very well, inassa," said he, " very well, thanl: 
God. All peaceable and good." " Do you like 

• We are here reminded of a fact stated by Mr. C. on 
another occasion. He said, that he once attended at the- 
death of a planter who had been noted for his severity fo' 
his slaves. It was the most horrid scene he ever wit- 
nessed. For hours before his death he was in ths e.xtre- 
mest agony, and the only words which he utiered were, 
"Africa. O Africa!" These words he repeated every 
few minutes, till he died. And such a ghastly counte- 
nance, such distortions of the muscles, such a hellishglare 
of the eye, and such convulsions of the body — it mude 
him shudder to think of them. ; 



/ 



B ARBADOES. 



ihe r.pprenticeship better then slavery V " Great 
deal belter, massa ; we is doina; well now." " You 
like the apprenticeship as well as freedom, don t 
you V " O no me massa, freedom till belter." 
!" What will you do when you arc entirely free 1" 
" We must work ; fill have to work wlicn de free 
corae, white and bhick." "You are old, and will 
not, enjoy freedom long; why do you wish for 
ficedom, then V " Me want to die free, massa— 
it good ting to die free, and mo want to see child- 
oen free too." 

We continued at Lear's during Monday, to he 
i), readiness for a tour to the windward of the 
idnnd, which Mr. C. had projected for us, and on 
which we were to set out early the next morning. 
In the course of the day we liad opportunities of 
seeing the apprentices in almost every situation — 
in the field, at the mill, in the boiling-house, mov- 
ing to and from work, and at rest. In every as- 
pect in which wo viewed them, they appeared 
cheerful, amiable, and easy of control. It was 
admirable to see with what ease and regularity 
every thing moved. An estate of nearly seven 
hundred acres, with extensive agriculture, and a 
large manufactory and distillery, employing three 
hundred apprentices, and supporting twenty-five 
horses, one hundred and thirty head of horned 
cattle, and hogs, sheep, and poultry in proportion, 
is manifestly a most complicated machinery. No 
wonder it should have been difficult to manage 
during slavery, when the main spring was absent, 
and every wheel out of gear. 

We saw the apprentices assembled after twelve 
o'clock, to receive their allowances of yams. 
iThese provisions are distributed to them twice 
every week — on Monday and Thursday. They 
were strewed along the yard in heaps of fifteen 
pounds each. The apprentices came with baskets 
to get their allowances. It resembled a market 
scene, much chattering and talking, but no anger. 
Each man, woman, and child, as they got their 
baskets filled, placed them on their heads, and 
marched oft' to their several huts. 

On Tuesday morning, at an early hour, Mr. C. 
took us in his'phaeton on our projected excursion. 
It was a beautiful morning. There was a full 
breeze from the east, which had already started 
Ihe ponderous wings of the wind-mills in every 
direction. The sun was shaded by light clouds, 
which rendered the air quite cool. Crossing the 
rich valley in which the Belle estate and other 
noble properties are situated, we ascended the 
cliffs of St. John's — a high ridge extending through 
the parish of that name — and as we rode along its 
top, eastward, we had adelightfLd view of sea and 
land. Below us on either hand lay vast estates 
glowing in the verdure of summer, and on three 
sides in the distance stretched the ocean. Rich 
swells of land, cultivated and blooming like a vast 
garden, extended to the north as far as the eye 
could reach, and on every other side down to the 
water's edge. One who has been accustomed to 
the wildness of American scenery, and to the im- 
perfect cultivation, intercepted with woodland, 
which yet characterizes even the oldest portions of 
the United States, might revel for a time amid the 
sunny meadows, the waving cane fields, the ver- 
dant provision grounds, the acres of rich black soil 
without a blade of grass, and divided into holes 
two feet square for the cane plants with the pre- 
cision almost of the cells of a honey comb ; and 
v/ithal he might be charmed with the luxurious 
mansions — more luxurious than superb—surround- 
ed with the white cedar, the cocoa-nut tree, and the 



tall, rich mountain cabbage— the most beautiful 
of all tropical trees ; but perchance it would not 
require a very Ivng excursion to weary him with 
the artificiality of the scenery, and cause him to 
sigh for tfte ""woods and wilds," the " banks and 
bmes," of his own majestic country. 

After an hour and a half's drive, we reached 
CoUiton estate, where we were engaged to break- 
fast. We met a hearty welcome from the mana- 
ger, Samuel Hinkston, Esq. We were soon join- 
ed by several gentlemen whom Mr. H. had invited 
to take breakfast with us ; these were the Rev. 
Mr.Gitteus, rector of St. Philip's parish, (in which 
CoUiton estate is situated,) and member of the co- 
lonial council ; Mr. Thomas, an extensive attor- 
ney of Barbadoes; and Dr. Bell, a planter of 
Demerara — then on a visit to the island. We 
conversed with each of the gentlemen separately, 
and obtained their individual views respecting 
emancipation. 

Mr. Hinkston has been a planter for thirty-six 
years, and is highly esteemed throughout the isl- 
and. 'The estate which he manages, ranks among 
the first in the island. It comprises six hundred 
acres of superior land, has a population of two 
hundred apprentices, and yields an average crop 
of one hundred and eighty hogsheads. Together 
with his long experience and standing as a plant- 
er, Mr. H. has been for many years local magis- 
trate for the parish in which he resides. From 
these circumstances combined, we are induced to 
give his opinions on a variety of points. 

1. He remarked that the planters were getting 
along infinitely better under the new system than 
they ever did under the old. Instead of regretting 
that the change had taken place, he is looking for- 
ward with pleasure to a better change in 1840, 
and he only regrets that it is not to come sooner. 

2. Mr. fl. said it was generally conceded that 
the island was never under better cultivation than 
at the present time. The crops for this year will 
exceed the average by several thousand hogsheads. 
The canes were planted in good season, and well 
attended to afterwards. 

3. Real estate has risen very much since eman- 
cipation. Mr. H. stated that he had lately pur- 
chased a small sugar estate, for which he was 
obliged to give several hundred pounds more tlian 
it would have cost him before 1834. 

4. There is not the least sense of insecurity now. 
Before emancipation there was much fear of in- 
surrection, but that fear passed away with sla- 
very. 

5. The prospect for 1840 is good. That people 
have no fear of ruin after emancipation, is proved 
by the building of sugar works on estates which 
never had any before, and which were obliged to 
cart their canes to neighboring estates to have 
them ground and manufactured. There are also 
numerous improvements making on the larger 
estates. Mr. H. is preparing to make a new mill 
and boiling-house on CoUiton, and other planters 
are doing the same. Arrangements are making 
too in various directions to build new negro villa- 
ges on a more commodious plan. 

G. Mr. H. says he finds his apprentices perfect- 
ly ready to work for wages during their own time. 
Whenever he needs their labor on Saturday, he 
has only to ask them, and they are ready to go to 
the mill, or the field at once. There has not been 
an instance on CoUiton estate in which the ap- 
prentices have refused to work, cither during the 
hours required by law, or during their own time. 
When he does not need their services on Satur- 



60 



B A R B A D.O E S. 



day, they either hire tliemselves to other estates or 
work on their ov/n grounds. 

7. Mr. H. was ready to say, both as a planter 
and a magistrate, that vice and crime «igenerally 
had decreased, and were still on the decrease. 
Petty thefts are the principal offences. He has 
not had occasion to send a single apprentice to the 
court of sessions for the last six months. 

8. He has no difficulty in managing his people — 
far less than he did when they were slaves. It is 
very seldom that he finds it necessary to call in 
the aid of the special magistrate. Conciliatory 
treatment is generally sufficient to maintain order 
and industry among the apprentices. 

9. He affirms that the negroes have no dispo- 
sition to be revengeful. He has never seen any 
thing like revenge. 

10. His people are as far removed from inso- 
lence as from vindictiveness. They have been 
uniformly civil. 

11. His apprentices have more interest in the 
affairs of the estate, and he puts more confidence 
in them than he ever did before. 

12. He declares that the working of the appren- 
ticeship, as also that of entire freedom, depends 
entirely on the planters. If they act with common 
humanity and reason, there is no fear but that the 
apprentices will be peaceable. 

JVIr. Thomas is attorney for fifteen estates, on 
which there are upwards of two thousand five 
hundred apprentices. We were informed that he 
had been distinguished as a severe disciplinarian 
under the old reign, or in plain terms, had been a 
criicl man and a hard, driver ; but he was one of 
those who. since emancipation, have turned about 
and conformed their mode of treatment to the new 
system. In reply to our inquiry hov/ the present 
system was working, he said, " infinitely better 
(such was his language) than slavery. I succeed 
better on all the estates under my charge than I did 
formerly. I have far less difficulty with the peo- 
ple. I have no reason to complain of their con- 
duct. However, I think they will do still better 
after 1810." 

We made some inquiries of Dr. Bell concerning 
the results of abolition in Demerara. He gave a 
decidedly flattering account of the working of the 
apprenticeship system. No fears are entertained 
that Demerara will be ruined after 1840. On the 
contrary it will be greatly benefited by emanci- 
pation. It is now suffering from a want of la- 
borers, and after 1840 there will be an increased 
emigration to that colony from the older and less 
productive colonies. The planters of Demerara 
are making arrangements for cultivating sugar on 
a larger scale than ever before. Estates are sell- 
ing at very high prices. Every thing indicates 
the fullest confidence on the part of the planters 
that the prosperity of the colony will not only be 
permanent, but progressive. 

After breakfast we proceeded to the Society's 
estate. We were glad to see this estate, as its 
history is peculiar. In 1728 it was bequeathed by 
General Coddrington to a society in England, call- 
ed " The Society for the promotion of Christian 
Knowledge." The proceeds of the estate were to 
be applied to the support of an institution in Bar- 
badoes, for educating missionaries of the establish- 
ed order. Some of the provisions of the will were 
that the estate should always have three hundred 
slaves upon it ; that it should support a school for 
the education of the negro children, who were to 
be taught a portion of every day until they were 
twelve years old, when they were to go into the 



field ; and that there should be a chapel built upoi 
it. The negroes belonging to the estate have fo. 
upwards of a hundred years been under this kindl 
of instruction. They have all been taught to read,| 
though in many instances they have forgotten all:' 
they learned, having no opportunity to improve 
after they left school. They enjoy some other 
comforts peculiar to the Society's estate. They 
have neat cottages built apart — each on a half-acre 
lot, which belongs to the apprentice, and for the 
cultivation of which he is allowed one day out of 
the five working days. Another peculiarity is, 
that the men and women work in separate gangs. 

At this estate we procured horses to ride to the 
College. We rode by the chapel and school-house 
belonging to the Society's estate, which are situ- 
ated on the brow of a high hill. From the same 
hill_ we caught a view of Coddrington college, 
which is situat<?d on a low bottom extending frora 
the foot of the rocky cliff on which we stood to the 
sea shore, a space of quarter of a mile. It is a 
long, narrow, ill-constructed edifice. 

We called on the principal, Rev. Mr. Jones, 
who received us very cordially, and conducted us 
over the buildings and the grounds connected with 
them. The college is large enough to accommodate 
a hundred students. It is fitted out with lodging 
rooms, various professors' departments, dining 
hall, chapel, library, and all the appurtenances of 
a university. The number of students at the 
close of the last term vis.s fifteen. 

The professors, two in number, are supported 
by a fund, consisting of £40,000 sterling, which 
has in part accumulated from the revenue of the 
estate. 

The principal spoke favorably of the operation 
of the apprenticeship in Barbadoes, and gave the 
negroes a decided superiority over the lower class 
of whites. He had seen only one colored beggar 
since he came to the island, but he was infested 
with multitudes of white ones. 

ft is intended to improve the college buildings 
as soon as the toil of apprentices on the Society's 
estate furnishes the requisite means. This rob- 
bing of God's image to promote education is hor- 
rible enough; taking the wages of slavery to 
spread the kingdom of Christ ! 

On re-ascending the hill, we called at the So- 
ciety's school. There are usually in attendance 
about one hundred children, since the abolition of 
slavery. Near the school-house is the chapel of 
the estate, a neat building, capable of holding 
three or four hundred people. Adjacent to the 
chapel is the burial ground for the negroes belong- 
ing to the Society's estate. We noticed several 
neat tom.bs, which appeared to have been erected 
only a short time previous. They were built of 
brick, and covered over with lime, so as to resem- 
ble white marble slabs. On being told that these 
were erected by the negroes themselves over the 
bodies of their friends, we could not fail to note 
so beautiful an evidence of their civilization and 
humanity. We returned to the Society's estate, 
where we exchanged our saddles for the phaeton, 
and proceeded on our eastward tour. 

Mr. C. took us out of the way a few miles to 
show us one of the few curiosities of which Bar- 
badoes can boast. It is called the " Horse." The 
shore for some distance is a high and precipitous 
ledge of rocks, which overhangs the sea in broken 
cliffs. In one place a huge mass has been rivea 
from the main body of rock and fallen into the 
sea. Other huge fragments have been broken off 
the same manner. In the midst of these, a 



^ 



in 



BARBADOES. 



61 



number of steps have been cut in the rock for the 
purpose of descending to the sea. At the bottom 
of these steps, there is a broad platform of solid 
rock, where one may stand securely, and hear the 
waves breaking around him like heavy thundei-s. 
Through the fissures we could see the foam and 
spray mingling with the blue of the ocean, and 
flashing in the sunshine. To the right, between 
the largest rock and the main land, there is a 
chamber of about ten feet wide, and twenty feet 
long. The fragment, which forms one of its sides, 
leans towards the main rock, and touches it at 
top, forming a roof, with here and there a fissure, 
tirough which the light enters. At the bottom of 
tne room there is a clear bed of water, which com- 
municates with the sea by a small aperture under 
the rock. It is as placid as a summer pond, and is 
fitted with steps for a bathing place. Bathe, truly! 
with the sea ever dashing against the side, and 
roaring and reverberating with deafening echo. 

On a granite slab, fixed in the side of the rock 
at the bottom of the first descent, is an inscrip- 
tion. Time has very much effaced the letters, but 
by the aid of Mr. C.'s memory, we succeeded in 
deciphering them. They will serve as the hundred 
and first exemplification of the Bonapartean max- 
im — " There is but one step from the sublime to 
the ridiculous." 

" In Ihis remote, and hoarse resounding place. 
Which biUows clash, and craggy cliffs embrace. 
These bubbling springs amid such horrors rise. 
But armed with virtue, horrors we despise. 
Bathe undismayed, nor dread the impending rock, 
'Tis virtue shields us from each adverse shoek. 

GENIO LOCI S,\CRUM POSUIT 

J. R. 

MARTIS MENSE 

1769." 

Prom the " Crane," which is the name given to 
that section of the country in which the " Horse" 
is situated, we bent our way in a southerly direc- 
tion to the Ridge estate, which was about eight 
miles distant, where we had engaged to dine. On 
the way we passed an estate which had just been 
on fire. The apprentices, fearing lest their houses 
should be burnt, had carried away all the movea- 
bles from them, and deposited them in separate 
heaps, on a newly ploughed field. The very doors 
and window shutters had been torn off and car- 
ried into the field, several acres of which were 
strewed over with piles of such furniture. Mr. C. 
was scarcely less struck with this scene than we 
were, and he assured us that he had never known 
such providence manifested on a similar occasion 
during slavery. 

At the Ridge estate we met Mr. Clarke, mana- 
ger at Staple Grove estate, Mr. Applewhitte of 
Carton, and a brother of Mr. C. The manager, 
Mr. Cecil, received us with the customary cor- 
diality. 

Mr. Clarke is the manager of an estate on 
which there are two hundred apprentices. His 
testimony was, that the estate was better cultivated 
since abolition than before, and that it is far easier 
to control the laborers, and secure uniformity of 
labor under the present system. He qualified 
this remark, by saying, that if harsh or' violent 
measures were used, there would be more diffi- 
culty now than during slavery ; but kind treat- 
ment and a conciliatory spirit never failed to se- 
cure peace and industry. At the time of aboli- 
tion, Mr. C. o\med ten slaves, whom he entirely 
emancipated. Some of these still remain with 
him as domestics ; others are hired on an adjoin- 



ing estate. One of those who left him to work 
on another estate, said to him, " Massa, when- 
ever you want anybody to help you, send to me, 
and I'll come. It makes no odds when it is — I'lJ 
be ready at any time — day or night." Mr. C. de. 
clared himself thoroughly convinced of the pro- 
priety of immediate emancipation ; though he was 
once a violent opposer of abolition. He said, that 
if he had the power, he would emancipate every 
apprentice on his estate to-morrow. As we were 
in the sugar-house examining the quality of the 
sugar, Mr. C. turned to one of us, and putting his 
hand on a hogshead, said, " You do not raise this 
article in your state, (Kentucky,) I believe." On 
being answered iw the negative, he continued, 
" Well, we will excuse you, then, somewhat in 
your state — you can't treat your slaves so cruelly 
there. This, this is the dreadful thing ! Wherever 
sugar is cultivated by slaves, there is extreme suf- 
fering." 

Mr. Applewhitte said emphatically, that there 
was no danger in entire emancipation. He was 
the proprietor of more than a hundred apprentices 
and he would like to see them all free at once. 

During a long sitting at the dinner table, eman- 
cipation was the topic, and we were gratified 
with the perfect unanimity of sentiment among 
these planters. After the cloth was removed, and 
we were about leaving the table, Mr. Clarke beg- 
ged leave to propose a toast. Accordingly, the 
glasses of the planters were once more filled, and 
Mr. C, bowing to us, gave our health, and '■ suc- 
cess to our laudable undertaking" — ■' most laudable 
undertaking," added Mr. Applewhitte, and the 
glasses were emptied. Had the glasses contained 
water instead of wine, our gratification would have 
been complete. It was a thing altogether beyond 
our most sanguine expectations, that a company 
of planters, all of whom were but three years pre- 
vious the actual oppressors of the slave, should be 
found wishing success to the cause of emancipa- 
tion. 

At half-past eight o'clock, we resumed our seats 
in Mr. C.'s phaeton, and by the nearest route 
across the country, returned to Lear's. • Mr. C. 
entertained us by the way with eulogies upon the 
industry and faithfulness of his apprentices. It 
was, he said, one of the greatest pleasures he ex- 
perienced, to visit the different est|ites under his 
charge, and witness the respect and affection 
which the apprentices entertained towards him. 
Their joyful welcome, their kind attentions during 
his stay with them, and their hearty ' good-bye, 
massa,' when he left, delighted him. 

VISIT TO COLONEL ASHBY's. 

We were kindly invited to spend a day at the 
mansion of Colonel Ashby, an aged and experi- 
enced planter, who is the proprietor of the estate 
on which he resides. Colonel A.'s estate is situa- 
ted in the parish of Christ Church, and is almost 
on the extreme point of a promontory, which 
forms the southernmost part of the island. An 
early and pleasant drive of nine miles from 
Bridgetown, along the southeastern coast of the 
island, brought us to his residence. Colonel A. 
is a native of Barbadoes, has been a practical 
planter since 1795, and for a long time a colonial 
magistrate, and commander of the parish troops. 
His present estate contains three hundred and 
?ifty acres, and has upon it two hundred and thirty 
apprentices, with a large number of free children. 
His average crop is eighty large hogsheads. Col- 
onel A. remarked to us, that he had witnessed 



69. 



BARBADOES. 



many cruelties and enormities under " the reign of 
terror." He said, tiiat the abolition of slavery 
had been an incalculable blessing, but added, that 
hs had not always entertained the same views re- 
specting emancipation. Before it took place, he was 
a violent opposerof any measure tending to aboli- 
tion. He regarded the English abolitionists, and 
the anti-slavery members in parliament, with un- 
mingled hatred. He had often cursed Wilberforce 
most bitterly, and thought that no doom, either in 
this life, or in the life to come, was too bad for him. 
" But," he exclaimed, " how mistaken I was about 
that man — I am convinced of it now — O he was 
a good man — a noble philanthropist — if there is 
a chair in heaven, Wilberforce is in it .'" Colonel 
A. is somewhat sceptical, which will account for 
his hypothetical manner of speaking about heaven. 

He said that he found no trouble in managing 
his apprentices. As local or colonial magistrate, 
in which capacity he. still continued to act, he had 
no cases of serious crime to adjudicate, and very 
few cases of petty misdemeanor. Colonel A. 
stated emphatically, that the negroes were not dis- 
posed to leave tiieir employment, unless the mas- 
ter was intolerably passionate and hard with 
them ; as for himself, he did not fear losing a sin- 
gle laborer after 1840. 

He dwelt much on the trustiness and strong 
attachment of the negroes, where they are well 
treated. There were no people in the world that 
he would trust his property or life with sooner than 
negroes, provided he had the previous manage- 
ment of them long enough to secure their confi- 
dence. He stated the following fact in confirma- 
tion of this sentiment. During the memorable 
insurrection of ISlfi, by which the neighboring 
parishes were dreadfully ravaged, he was sudden- 
ly called from home on military duty. After he 
had proceeded some distance, he recollected that 
he had left five thousand dollars in an open desk 
at home. He immediately told the fact to his 
slave who was with him, and sent him back to 
take care of it. He knew nothing more of his 
money until the rebellion was quelled, and peace 
restored. On returning home, the slave led him 
to a cocoa-nut tree near by the house, and dug up 
the money, which he had buried under its roots. 
He found the whole sum secure. The negro, he 
said, might have taken the money, and he would 
lever have suspected him, but would have con- 
cluded that it had been, in common with other 
larger sums, seized upon by the insurgents. Col- 
onel A. said that it was impossible for him to 
mistrust the negroes as a body. He spoke in 
terms of praise also of the con}u,gal attachment 
of the negroes. His son, a merchant, stated a fact 
on this subject. The wife of a nes:ro man whom 
he knew, became afflicted with that loathsome 
disease, the leprosy. The man coiuinuedto live 
with her, notwithstanding the disease was univer- 
sally considered contagious, and was peculiarly 
dreaded by the negroes. The man, on being 
asked why he lived with his wife under such cir- 
cumstances, said, that he had lived with her when 
she was well, and he could not bear to forsake her 
when she was in distress. 

Colonel A. made numerous inquiries respecting 
slavery in America. He said there would cer- 
tainly be insurrections in the slaveholding states,^ 
imless slavery was abolished. Nothing but abo-' 
lition could put an end to insurrections. 

Mr. Thomas, a neighboring planter, dined 
with us. He had not carried a complaint to the 
special magistrate against his apprentices for six 



months. He remarked particularly that emanci- 
pation had been a great blessing to the master; it 
brought freedom to him as well as to the slave. 

A few days subsequent to our visit to Colonel 
A.'s, the Reverend Mr. Packer, of the Established 
Churcli, called at our lodgings, and introduced a 
planter from the parish of St. Thomas. The 
planter is proprietor of an estate, and has eighty 
apprentices. His apprentices conduct themselves 
very satisfactorily, and he had not carried a half 
dozen complaints to the special magistrate since 
1834. He said that cases of crime were very 
rare, as he had opportunity of knowing, being 
local magistrate. There were almost no penal 
offences brought before him. Many of the ap- 
prentices of St. Thomas parish were buying their 
freedom, and there were several cases of appraise- 
ment* every week. The Monday previous, six 
cases came before him, in four of which the ap- 
prentices paid the money on the spot. 

Before this gentleman left, the Rev. Mr. C 
called in with Mr. Pigeot, another planter, with 
whom we had a long conversation. Mr. P. has 
been a manager for many years. We had heard 
of him previously as the only planter in the island 
who had made an experiment in task work prior 
to abolition. He tried it for twenty months be- 
fore that period on an estate of four hundred acres 
and two hundred people. His plan was simply 
to give each slave an ordinary day's work for a 
task ; and after that was performed, the remain- 
der of the time, if any, belonged to the slave. No 
wages were allowed. The gang were expected to 
accomplish just as much as they did before, and 
to do it as well, however long a time it might 
require ; and if they could finish in half a day, 
the other half was their own, and they might em- 
ploy it as they saw fit. Mr. P. said, he was very 
soon convinced of the good policy of the system ; 
though he had one of the most unruly gangs ot 
negroes to manage in the whole island. The re- 
sults of the experiment he stated to be these : 

1. The usual day's work was done generally 
before the middle of the afternoon. Sometimes it 
was completed in five hours. 

2. The work was done as well as it was ever 
done under the old system. Indeed, the estate 
continued to improve in cultivation, and presented 
a far better appearance at the close of the twenty 
months, than when he took the charge of it. 

3. The trouble of management was greatly 
diminished. Mr. P. was almost entirely released 
from the care of overseeing the work : he could 
trust it to the slaves. 

4. The whip was entirely laid aside. The idea 
of having a part of the day which they could call 
their own, and employ for tJieir own interests, was 
stimulus enough for the slaves without resorting 
to the whip. 

5. The time gained was not spent (as many 
feared and prophesied it would be) either in mis- 
chief or indolence. It was diligently improved 
in cultivating their provision grounds, or working 
for wages on neighboring estates. Frequently a 
man and his wife would commence early and 
work together until they got the work of both so 
far advanced that the man could finish it alone 
before night; and then the woman would gather 
up a load of yams and start for the market. 

6. The condition of the people improved aston ■ 

' When an apprentice signifies his wisli to purchase his 
fieedoiii, he aj'plies to the magistrate for an appraise- 
ment. Tiie appraisement is made by one special and two 
local Magistrates. 



BARBADOES, 



63 



isljlngly. They became one of the most industri- 
(as and orderly gangs in the parish. Under the 
former system they were considered inadequate to 
ao the work of the estate, and the manager was 
obhged to hire additional hands every year, to take 
OiT the crop ; but Mr. P. never hired any, though 
ut made as large crops as were made formerly. 

7. After the abolition of slavery, his people 
chose to continue on the same system of task 
^ork. 

Mr. P. stated that the planters were universally 
opposed to his experiment. They laughed at the 
idea of making negroes work without using the 
whip; and they all prophesied that it would prove 
an utter failure. After some months' successful 
ffial, he asked some of his neighbor planters 
what they thought of it then, and he appealed to 
them to say whether he did not get his work done 
as thoroughly and seasonably as they did theirs. 
They were compelled to admit it ; but still they 
were opposed to his system, even more than ever. 
They called it an innovation — it was setting a 
bad example ; and they honestly declared that 
they did not wish the slaves to have any time of 
tJuir own. Mr. P. said, he was first induced to 
try the system of task work from a consideration 
that the negroes were men as well as himself, and 
deserved to be dealt with as liberally as their re- 
lation would allow. He soon found that what 
was intended as a favor to the slaves was really 
a benefit to the master, Mr. P. was persuaded 
that entire freedom would be better for all parlies 
than apprenticeship. He had heard some fears 
expressed concerning the fate of the island after 
1840; but he considered them very absurd. 

Although this planter looked forward with san- 
guine hopes to 1840, yet he would freely say that 
he did not think the apprenticeship would be any 
pi'eparation for entire freedom. The single ob- 
ject with the great majority of the planters seemed 
to be to get as miich out of the apprentices as they 

f)ossibly could during the term. No attention 
lad been paid to preparing the apprentices for 
freedom. 

We were introduced to a planter who was no- 
torious during the reign of slavery for the strict- 
ness of his discipline, to use the Barbadian phrase, 
or, in plain English, for his rigorous treatment 
and his cruelty. 

He is the proprietor of three sugar estates and 
one cotton plantation in Barbadoes, on all of 
which there are seven hundred apprentices. He 
was a luxurious looking personage, bottle-cheeked 
and hus:e i' the midst, and had grown fat on 
slaveholding indulgences. He mingled with 
every sentence he uttered some profane expres- 
sion, or solemn appeal to his " honor," and seem- 
ed to be greatly delighted with hearing himself 
talk. He displayed all those prejudices whicl* 
raiffht naturally be looked for in a mind educated 
and trained as his had been. As to the conduct 
of the apprentices, he said they were peaceable 
and industrious, and mostly well disposed. But 
after all, the negroes were a perverse race of peo- 
ple. It was a singular fact, he said, that thp se- 
verer the master the better the apprentices. When 
the master was mild and indulgent, they were 
sure to be lazy, insolent, and unfaithful. He 
kn£VJ this by experience ; this was the case with 
HIS apprentices. His house-servants especially 
were very bad. But there was one com]ilaint he 
had against them all, domestics and praedials — 
they always hold him to the letter of the law, and 
•are ready to arraign him before the special ma- 



gistrate for every infraction of it on his part, how- 
ever trifling. How ungrateful, truly ! After 
being provided for with parental care from ear- 
liest infancy, and supplied yearly with two 
suits of clothes, and as many yams as they could 
eat, and only having to work thirteen or fifteen 
hours per day in return ; and now when they are 
no longer slaves, and new privileges are conferred, 
to exact them to the full extent of the law whicli 
secures them — what ingratitude ' How soon are 
the kindnesses of the past, and the hand that be- 
stowed them, forgotten ! Had these people pos- 
sessed the sentimentsof human beings, they would 
have been willing to take the boon of freedom and 
lay it at their master's feet, dedicating the remain- 
der of their days to his discretionary service ! 

But with all his violent prejudices, this planter 
stated some facts which are highly favorable to 
the apprentices. 

1. He frankly acknowledged that his estates 
were never under better cultivation than at the 
present time : and he could say the same of the 
estates throughout the island. The largest crops 
that have ever been made, will be realized this 
year. 

2. The apprentices are generally willing to 
work on the estates on Saturday whenever their 
labor is needed. 

3. The females are very much disposed to 
abandon field labor. He has great difficulty 
sometimes in inducing them to take their hoes 
and go out to the field along with the men ; it 
was the case particularly with the mothers ! This 
he regarded as a sore evil ! 

4. The free children he represented as being in 
a wretched condition. Their parents have the 
entire management of them, and they are utterly 
opposed to having them employed on the estates. 
He condemned severely the course taken in a par- 
ticular instance by the late Governor, Sir Lionel 
Smith. He took it upon himself to go around 
the island and advise the parents never to bind 
their children in any kind of apprenticeship to 
the planters. He told them that sooner than in- 
volve their free children in any way, they ought 
to " work their own fingers to the stubs." The 
consequence of this imprudent measure, said our 
informant, is that the planters have no control 
over the children born on their estates ; and in 
many instances their parents have sent them 
away lest their residence on the property should, 
by some chance, give the planter a claim upon 
their services. Under the good old system the 
young children were placed together under the 
chai-ge of some superannuated women, who were 
fit for nothing else, and the mothers went into the 
field to work ; now the nursery is broken up, and 
the mothers spend half of their time " in taking 
care of their brats." 

5. As to the management of the working peo- 
ple, there need not be any more difficulty now 
than during slavery. If the magistrates, instead 
of encouraging the apprentices to complain and 
be insolent, would join their influence to support 
the authority of the planters, things might go on 
nearly as smoothly as before. 

In company with Rev. Mr. Packer, late Rec- 
tor of St. Thomas, we rode out to the Belle 
estate, which is considered one of the finest in the 
island. Mr. Marshall, the manager, received us 
cordially. He was selected, with two others, by 
Sir Lionel Smith, to draw up a scale of labor 
for general use in the island. There are five 
hundred acres in the estate, and two hundred 



64 



BARBADOES. 



and thirty-five apprenticed laborers. The man- 
ager stated that every thing was working well 
on his property. He corroborated the statements 
made by other planters with regard to the 
conduct of the apprentices. On one point he said 
the planters had found themselves greatly disap- 
pomtcd. It was feared that after emancipation 
the negroes would be very much averse to culti- 
vating cane, as it was supposed that nothing but 
the whip could induce them to perform that species 
of labor. But the truth is, they now not only 
cultivate the estate lands better than they did when 
under the lash, b"t. also cultivate a third of their 
half-acre allotments in cane on their own accounts. 
They would plant the whole in cane if they were 
not discouraged by the planter, whose principal 
objection to their doing so is that it would lead to 
the entire neglect of provision aMivation. The 
apprentices on Belle estate will make little short 
of one thousand dollars the present season by 
their sugar. 

Mr. M. stated that he was extensively acquaint- 
ed with the cultivation of the island, and he 
knew that it was in a better condition than it had 
been for many years. There were twenty-four 
estates under the same attorneyship with the 
Belle, and they were all in the same prosperous 
condition. 

A short time before we left Barbadoes we re- 
ceived an invitation from Col. Barrow, to break- 
fast with him at his residence on Edgecomc 
estate — about eight miles from town. Mr. Cum- 
mins, a colored gentleman, a merchant of Bridge- 
town, and agent of Col. B., accompanied us. 

The proprietor of Edgecome is a native of Bar- 
badoes, of polished manners and very liberal 
views. He has travelled extensively, has held 
many important- offices, and is generally consid- 
ered the cleverest man in the island. He is now 
a member of the council, and acting attorney for 
about twenty estates. He remarked that he had 
always desired emancipation, and had prepared 
himself for it ; but that it had proved a greater 
blessing than he had expected. His apprentices 
did as much work as before, and it was done 
without the a])plication of (he whip. He had not 
had any cases of insubordination, and it was very 
seldom that he had any complaints to make to 
the special magistrate. " The apprentices." said 
he, " understand the meaning of law, and they 
regard its authority." He thought there was no 
such thing in the island as a sense of insec2i.rili/, 
either as respected person or property. Re'ai 
estate had risen in value. 

Col. B. alluded to the expensiveness of slavery, 
remarking that after all that was expended in pur- 
chasing the slaves, it cost the proprietor as much 
to maintain them, as it would to hire free men. 
He spoke of the habit of exercising arbitrary 
power, which being in continual play up to the 
time of abolition, had become so strong that man- 
agers even yet gave way to it, and frequently 
ounished their apprentices, in spite of all penal- 
•les. The fines inflicted throughout the island in 
1836, upon planters, overseers, and others, for 
■lunishmg apprentices, amounted to one tliousand 
-.wo hundred dollars. Col. B. said that he found 
the legal penalty so inadequate, that in his own 
practice he was obliged to resort to other means 
to deter his book-keepers and overseers from vio- 
lence; hence he discharged every man under his 
control who was known to strike an apprentice. 
He does not tliink that the apprenticeship will be 
n means of preparing the negroes for freedom, 



nor does he believe that they n ted any preparatio.i. 
He should have apprehended no danger, hid 
emancipation taken place in 1834. 

At nine o'clock we sat down to breakfast 
Our places were assigned at opposite sides of tlie 
table, between Col. B. and Mr. C. To an Amer- 
ican eye, we presented a singular spectacle. A 
wealthy planter, a member of the legislative coun- 
cil, sitting at the breakfast table with a colored 
man, whose mother was a negress of the must 
unmitigated hue, and who himself showed a head 
of hair as curly as his mother's ! But this color- 
ed guest was treated with all that courtesy and 
attention to which his intelligence, worth and ac- 
complished manners so justly entitle him. 

About noon, we left Edgecome. and drove 
Uvo miles Au-ther, to Horton— an estate owned bv 
Foster Clarke, Esq., an attorney for twenty-twc 
estates, who is now temporarily residing in Eno-. 
land. The intelligent manager of Horton recei v- 
ed us and our colored companion, with char;ir 
teristic hospitality. Like every one else, he tc.ld 
us that the apprenticeship was far better than, 
slavery, though he was looking forward to the 
still better system, entire freedom. 

After we had taken a lunch, Mr. Cummins in- 
vited our host to take a seat with us in his car- 
riage, and we drove across the country to Drax 
Hall. Drax Hall is the largest estate in the 
island— consisting of eight hundred acres. The 
manager of this estate confirmed the testimony 
of the Barbadian planters in every important 
particular. 

From Drax Hall we returned to Bridgetown 
accompanied by our friend Cummins. 



CHAPTER II. 

TESTIMONY OP SPECIAL MAGISTRATES. POLICE GPFI-- 
CERS, CLERGYMEN, AND MISSIONARIES. 

Next in weight to the testimony of the planters 
is that of the special magistrates. Being offi- 
cially connected with the administration of th 
apprenticeship system, and the adjudicators in 
ail difficulties between master and servant, their 
views of the system and of the conduct of the 
different parties are entitled to special considera- 
tion. Our interviews with this class of men ' 
were frequent during our slay in the island. We 
found them uniformly ready to communicate in- 
formation, and free to express their sentiments. 

In Barbadoes there are seven special magis- 
trate's, presiding over as many districts, marked 
A, B, C, &c., which include the whole of the ap- 
prentice population, praedial and non-praedial. 
These districts embrace an average of twelve 
thousand apprentices — some more and some less. 
All the complaints and difficulties which ari'se 
among that number of apprentices and their 
masters, overseers and book-keepers, arc brought 
before the single magistrate presiding in the dis- ' 
tricfin which they occur. From the statement of 
this fact it will appear in the outset either that the 
special magistrates have an incalculable amount 
of business to transact, or that the conduct of the 
apprentices is wonderfully peacetible. But more 
of this again. 

About a week following our first interview with 
his excellency. Sir Evan McGregor, we received 
an invitation to dine at Government House with 
a company of gentlemen. On our arrival at six 
o'clock, we were conducted into a large ante- 
chamber above the dining hail, where we wer 



BARBADOES. 



65 



soon joined by the Solicitor-General, Hon. R. B. 
Clarke, Dr. Clarke, a pliysician, Maj, Colthui'st, 
CaiU. Hamilton, and Mr. Galloway, special ma- 
gistrates. The appearance of the Governor about 
an hour afterwards, was the signal for an adjourn- 
ment to dinner. 

Slavery and emancipation were the engrossing 
topics during the evening. As our conversation 
'>vas for the most part general, we were enabled 
to gather at the same time the opinions of all the 
iiiM-sons present. There was, for aught wc heard 
■.ri'ould see to the contrary, an entire unanimity 
I if sentiment. In the course of the evening we 
>(uhered the following facts and testimony : 

I. All the company testified to the benefits of 
abolition. It was atiirmcd that tlie island was 
never in so prosperous a condition as at present. 
, '2. The estates generally are better cultivated 
than they were during slavery. Said one of the 
magistrates : 

'' If, gentlemen, you would see for yourselves the 
jevidences of our successful cultivation, you need 
Ijut to travel in any part of the country, and view 
[the superabundant crops whicli arc now being 
pkcii off; and if you would satisfy yourselves 
p.hat emancipation has not been ruinous to Bar- 
badocs, only cast your eyes over the land in any 
direction, and see the flourishing condition both of 
houses and fields : every thinir is startins: into new 
!ife." 

It was also stated that more work was done 
fiuring the nine hours required by law, than was 
ione during slavery in twelve or fifteen hours, 
witli all the driving and goading which were then 
Dractised. 

3. Offences have not increased, but rather 
essened. The Solicitor-General remarked, that 
he comparative state of crime could not be ascer- 
ained by a mere reference to statistical records, 
since previous to emancipation all offences were 
Summarily punished by the planters. Each estate 
ivas a little despotism, and the manager took 
;ognizance of all the misdemeanors committed 
imong his slaves — inflicting such punishment as 
le tliought proper. The public knew nothing 
tbout the offences of the slaves, unless something 
l^ery atrocious was committed. But since emanci- 
jalion has taken place, all offences, however 
rivial, come to the light and are recorded. He 
iould only give a judgment founded on observa- 
ion. It was his opinion, that there were fewer 
)etty offences, such as thefts, larcenies, &c., than 
luring slavery. As for serious crime, it was 
lardly known in the island. The whites enjoy 
ar greater safety of person and property than 
hey did formerly. 

Maj. Colthurst, who is an Irishman, rem.irked, 
hat he had long been a magistrate or justice of 
he peace in Ireland, and he was certain that at 
he present ratio of crime in Barbadoes, tliere 
,vould not be as much perpetrated in si.K years to 
;ome, as there is in Ireland among an equal pop- 
ilation in six months. For his part, he had never 
bund in any part of the world so peaceable and 
noffensive a community. 

4. It was the unanimous testimony that there 
vas no disposition among the apprentices to re- 
venge injuries committed against them. They are 
lot a revengeful people, but on the contrary are 
■emarkable for forgetting wrongs, particularly 
vhen they are succeeded by kindness. 

5. The apprentices were described as being 
■encrally civil and respectful toward their em- 
loyers. They were said to manifest more inde- 



pendence of feeling and action than they did 
when slaves ; but were seldom known to be 
insolent unless grossly insulted or very harshly 
used. 

G. Ample testimony was given to the law- 
abiding character of the negroes. When the ap- 
prenticeship system was first introduced, they did 
not fully comprehend its provisions, and as they 
had anticipated entire freedom, they were disap- 
pointed and dissatisfied. But in a little while 
they became reconciled to the operations of the 
new system, and have since manifested a due 
subordination to tiie laws and authorities. 

7. There is great desire manifested among them 
to purchase their freedom. Not a week passes 
witjiout a number of appraisements. Those who 
have purchased their freedom have generally 
conducted well, and in many instances are labor- 
ing on the same estates on which thev were 
slaves. 

8. There is no difficulty in inducing the ap- 
prentices to work on Saturday. They are usually 
willing to work if pro]ier wages arc given them. 
If they are not needed on the estates, they either 
work on their own grounds, or on some neighbor- 
ing estate. 

9. The special magistrates were all of the 
opinion that it would have been entirely safr to 
haveeraanciimted the slaves of Barbadoes in 1834. 
They did not believe that any preparation was 
needed ; but that entire emancipation would have 
been decidedly better than the apprenticeship. 

10. The magistrates also stated that the num- 
ber of complaints brought before them was com- 
paratively small, and it was gradually diminish- 
ing. The offences were of a very trivial nature, 
mostly cases of slight insubordination, such as 
impertinent replies and disobedience of orders. 

il. They stated that they had more trouble 
with petty overseers and managers and small 
proprietors than with the entire black population. 

12. The special magistrates further testified 
that wherever tlie planters have exercised common 
kindness and humanity, the apprentices have 
generally conducted peaceably. Whenever there 
are many complaints from one estate, it is pre- 
sumable that the manager is a bad man. 

13. Real estate is much higher throughout the 
island than it has been for many years. A 
magistrate said that he had heard of an estate 
which had been in market for ten years before 
abolition and could not find a purchaser. In 1835, 
the year following abolition, it was sold for one 
third more than was asked for it two years 
before. 

14. It was stated that there was not a pro- 
prietor in the island, whose opinion was of any 
worth, who would wish to have slavery restored. 
Those who were mostly bitterly opposed to aboli- 
tion, have become reconciled, and are satisfied 
that the change has been beneficial. The Solici- 
tor-General was candid enough to own that he 
himself was openly opposed to emancipation. 
He had declared publicly and repeatedly while 
the measure was pending in Parliament, that .abo- 
lition would ruin the colonies. But tjic results had 
proved so different that he was ashamed of his 
former forebodings. He had no desire ever to 
see slavery re-established. 

1.5. The first of August, 1834, was described 
as a day of remarkable quiet and tranquillity. 
The Solicitor-General remarked, that there were 
many fears for the results of that first day of 
abolition. He said he arose early that morning, 



o6 



BiiRBADOES. 



and before eight o'clock rode through the most 
populous part of the island, over an extent of 
twelve miles. The negroes were all engaged in 
their work as on other days. A stranger riding 
through the island, and ignorant of the event 
which had taken place that morning, would have 
observed no indications of so extraordinary a 
change. He returned home satisfied that all would 
work well. 

16. The change in 1840 was spoken of as 
being associated with the most sanguine expecta- 
tions. It was thought that there was more danger 
to be apprehended from the change in 1838. It 
was stated that there were about fifteen thousand 
non-praedials, who would then be emancipated in 
Barbadoes. This will most likely prove the oc- 
casion of much excitement and uneasiness, though 
it is not supposed that any thing serious will 
arise. The hope was expressed that the legisla- 
ture would effect the emancipation of the whole 
population at that time. One of the magistrates 
informed us that he knew quite a number of 
planters in his district who were willing to libe- 
rate their apprentices immediately, but they were 
waiting for a general movement. It was thought 
that this state of feeling was somewhat extensive. 

17. The magistrates represented the negroes as 
natvirally confiding and docile, yielding readily to 
the authority of those who are placed over them. 
Maj. Colthursl presides over a district of 9, 000 ap- 
prentices; Capt. Hamilton over a district of 13,000, 
and Mr. Galloway over the same number. There 
are but three days in the week devoted to hearing 
and settling complaints. It is very evident that 
in so short a time it would be utterly impossible 
for one man to control and keep in order such a 
number, unless the subjects were of themselves 
disposed to be peaceable and submissive. The 
magistrates informed us that notwithstanding the 
extent of their districts, they often did not have more 
than from a dozen to fifteen complaints in a week. 

We were highly gratified with the liberal spirit 
and the intelligence of the special magistrates. 
Major C-i.f. hurst is a gentleman of far more than 
ordinary pretensions to refinement and general 
information. He was in early life a justice of the 
peace in Ireland, he was afterwards a major in 
his Majesty's service, and withal, has been an 
extensive traveller. Fifteen years ago he trav- 
elled in the United States, and passed through 
several of the slaveholding states, where he was 
shocked with the abominations of slavery. He 
was persuaded that slavery was worse in our 
country, than it has been for many years in the 
West Indies. Captain Hamilton was formerly 
an officer in the British navy. He seems quite 
devoted to his business, and attached to the 
interests of the apprentices. Mr. Galloway is a 
colored gentleman, highly respected for his talents. 
Mv. G. informed us that prejudice against color 
was rapidly diminishing — and that the present 
Governor was doing all in his power to discoun- 
tenance it. 

The company spoke repeatedly of the noble a'ct 
of abolition, by vjhich Great Britain had immor- 
talized her name more than by all the achievements 
of her armies and navies. 

The warmest wishes were expressed for the 
abolition of slavery in the United States. All 
said they should rejoice when the descendants of 
Great Britain should adopt the noble example ot] 
their mother country. They hailed the present 
nnti-slavery movements. Said the Solicitor-Gen- 
pral, " We were once strangely opposed to the 



English anti-slavery party, but now we sympali 
thize with you. Since slavery is abolished ir 
our own colonies, and we see the good which re 
suits from the measure, we go for abolitior 
throughout the world. Go on, gentlemen, we an 
with you ; we are all sailing in the same vessel.' 

Being kindly invited by Captain Hamilton 
during our interview with him at the governmeni 
house, to call on him and attend his court, wi 
availed ourselves of his invitation a few days 
afterwards. We left Bridgetown after breakfast 
and as it chanced to be Saturday, we had a fine 
opportunity of seeing the people coming into mar 
ket. They were strung all along the road fo: 
six miles, so closely that there was scarcely £ 
minute at any time in which we did not pasi: 
them. As far as the eye could reach there werer 
files of men and women, moving peaceably for) 
ward. From the cross paths leading through th(i 
estates, the busy marketers were pouring into thd 
high way. To their heads as usual was -com 
milled the safe conveyance of the various commoi 
dities. It was amusing to observe the almos 
infinite diversity of products which loaded them 
There were sweet potatoes, yams, eddoes, Guine; 
and Indian corn, various fruits and berries, vege 
tables, nuts, cakes, bottled beer and empty bottles 
bundles of sugar cane, bundles of fire wood, &c 
&c. Here was one woman (the majority wen. 
females, as usual with the marketers in these ish 
ands) with a small black pig doubled, up undei 
her arm. Another girl had a brood of younj: 
chickens, with nest, coop, and all, on her head 
Further along the road we were specially attractec 
by a woman who was trudging with an immensi 
turkey elevated on her head. He quite filled thi 
tray ; head and tail projecting beyond its bounds 
He advanced, as was very proper, head foremost 
and it was irresistibly laughable to see him eve 
and anon stretch out his neck and peep under tin 
tray, as though he would discover by what man 
ner of locomotive it was that he got along so fas 
while his own legs were tied together. 

Of the hundreds whom we past, there were verj 
few who were not well dressed, healthy, and ap 
parently in good spirits. We saw nothing inde*" 
orous, heard no vile language, and witnessed n( 
violence. 

About four miles from town, we observed on tb 
side of the road a small grove of shade trees. Num 
bers of the marketers were seated there, or lyin< 
in the cool shade with their trays beside them. I 
seemed to be a sort of rendezvous place, wher 
those going to, and those returning from town, 
occasionally halt for a time for the purpose oi 
resting, and to tell and hear news concerning the 
state of the market. And why should not thes( 
travelling merchants have an exchange as wel 
as the stationary ones of Bridgetown 1 

On reaching the station-house, which is abou 
six miles from town, we learned that Saturdaj 
was not one of the court days. We accordingly 
drove to Captain Hamilton's residence. Hi 
stated that during the week he had only six cas§. 
of complaint among the thirteen thousand apprr'i, 
tices C7nbraced in his district. Saturday is l)i( 
day set apart for the apprentices to visit him ' a , 
his house for advice on any points connected 
with their duties. He had several calls while wi 
were with him. One was from the mother of ar 
apprentice girl who had been committed for in, 
juring the master's son. She came to inforn' 
Captain H. that the girl had been whipped t\\lc(i 
contrary to law, before her commitment. Cat> 



BARBADOES. 



67 



tain H. stated that the girl had said nothing about 
this ft the time of her trial; if she had, she would 
ill all probability have been set free, instead of 
being committed to prison. He remarked that he 
had no question but there were numerous cases 
of flogging on the estates which never came to 
light. The sufferers were afraid to inform against' 
cheir masters, lest they should be treated still 
worse. The opportunity which he gave them of 
coining to him one day in the week for private 
advice, was the means of exposing many outrages 
^«^lich would otherwise be unheard of. He ob- 
sn-ved that there were not a few whom lie had 
IpM-ated on account of the cruelty of their masters. 
I Captain H. stated that the apprentices were 
irJuch disposed to purchase their freedom. To 
obtain money to pay for themselves they practice 
the most severe economy and selfdenial in the 
very few indulgences which the law grants them. 
They sometimes resort to deception to depreciate 
their value with the appraisers. He mentioned 
an instance of a man who had for many years 
been an overseer on a large estate. Wishing to 
purchase himself, and knowing that his master 
iralued him very highly, he permitted his beard 
:o grow, gave his face a wrinkled and haggard 
ippearance, and bound a handkerchief about his 
lead. His clothes were suffered to become rag- 
ged and dirty, and he began to feign great weak- 
less in his limbs, and to complain of a " misery 
ill down his back." He soon appeared marked 
vith all the signs of old age and decrepitude. In 
his plight, and leaning on a stick, he hobbled up 

the station-house one day, and requested to be 
ippraised. He was appraised at £10, which 
le immediately paid. A short time afterwards, 
le engaged himself to a proprietor to manage 

1 small estate at £30 per year in cash and his 
)wn maintenance, all at once grew vigorous 
igain, and is prospering finely. Many of the 
nasters in turn practice deception to prevent 
he apprentices from buying themselves, or to 
nake them pay the very highest sum for their 
i-eedom. They extol their virtues— they are 
very thing that is excellent and valuable— their 
ervices on the estate are indispensable no one 
an fill their places. By such misrepresentations 
hey often get an exorbitant price for the remain- 
ler of the term — more, sometimes, than they could 
lave obtained for them for life while they were 
llaves. 

; From Captain H.'s we returned to the station- 
louse, the keeper of which conducted us over the 
i'Uildings, and showed us the ceils of the prison, 
rhe house contains the office and private room 
f the magistrate, and the guard-room, below, and 
hambers for the police men above. There are 
ixteen solitary cells, and two large rooms for 
|hose condemned to hard labor— one for females 
,nd the other for males. There were at that time 
even in the solitary cells, and twenty-four em- 
iloyed in labor on the roads. This is more than 
.isual. The average number is twenty in all. 
'r ''hen it is considered that most of the commit- 
ntnts are for trivial offences, and that the district 
ontains thirteen thousand apprentices, certainly 
Ve have grounds to conclude that the state of 
nbrals in Barbadoes is decidedly superior to that 
n our own country. 

The whole police force for this district is com- 
fosed of seventeen horsemen, four footmen, a ser- 
vant, and the keeper. It was formerly greater, 
lut has been reduced within the past year. 
: The keeper informed us that he found the ap- 



prentices, placed under his care, very easily con- 
trolled. Th"y sometimes attempt to escape ; but 
there has been no instance of revolt or insybor 
dination. The island, he said, was peaceable, 
and were it not for the petty complaints of th 
overseers, nearly the whole police force might be 
disbanded. As for insurnction, he laughed at 
the idea of it. It was feared before abolition, but 
now no one thought of it. All but two or three 
of the policemen at this station are black and 
colored men. 

STATION-HOUSE AT DISTRICT A. 

Being disappointed in our expectations of wit- 
nessing some trials at the station-house in Cap- 
tain Hamilton's district (B,) we visited the court 
in district A, where Major Colthurst presides. 
Major C. was in the midst of a trial when we 
entered, and we did not learn fully the nature of 
the case then pending. We were immediately 
invited within the bar,''whence we had a fair view 
of all that passed. 

There were several complaints made and tried, 
during our stay. We give a brief account of 
them, as they will serve as specimens of the cases 
usually brought before the special magistrates. 

I. The first was a complaint made by a colored 
lady, apparently not more than twenty, againsv 
a colored girl — her domestic apprentice. The 
charge was insolence, and disobedience of orders. 
The complainant said that the girl was exceed- 
ingly insolent— no one could imagine how inso 
lent she had been — it was beyond endurance. 
She seemed wholly unable to find words enough 
to express the superlative insolence of her servant. 
The justice requested her to particularize. Upoii 
this, she brought out several specific charges, 
such as, first, That the girl brought a candle t& 
her one evening, and wiped her ^reasy fingers on 
her (the girl's) gown ; second. That one morning 
she refused to bring some warm water, as com- 
manded, to pour on a piece of flannel, until she 
had finished some other work that she was doing 
at the time ; third. That the same morning sho 
delayed coming into her chamber as usual to 
dress her, and when siie did come, she sung, and 
on being told to shut her mouth, she replied that 
her mouth was her own, and that she would sing 
when she pleased ; and fourth. That she had said 
in her mistress's hearing that she would be glad 
when she was freed. These several charges 
being sworn to, the girl was sentenced to four 
days' solitary confinement, but at ihe request of 
her mistress, she was discharged on promise of 
amendment. 

II. The second complaint was against an ap- 
prentice-man by his master, for absence from 
work. He had leave to go to the funeral of his 
mother, and he did not return until after the time 
allowed him by his master. The man was sen- 
tenced to imprisonment. 

III. The third complaint was against a woman 
for singing and making a disturbance in the field. 
Sentenced to six days' solitary confinement. 

IV. An apprentice was brought up for not 
doing his work well. He was a mason, and was 
employed iri erecting an -srch on one of the public 
roads. This case excite^.; considerable interest. 
The apprentice was represented by his master to 
be apraedial — the master testified on oath that he 
was registered as a praedial ; but in the course of 
the examination it was proved that he had always 
been a mason ; that he had labored at that trade 
from his boyhood, and that he knew ' nothing 



S8 



BARBADOES. 



about the hoe,' having never worked an hour in 
the field. This was sufficient to prove that he 
was a non-pratdial, and of course eiiuiled to lib- 
3ny two years sooner than Jie would liave been 
IS a praedial. As this matter came up incidcnt- 
a.lly, it enraged the master exceedingly. He 
fiercely reiterated his charge against the appren- 
Lice, who, on his part, averred that he did his 
work as well as he could. The master manitested 
;he greatest excitement and fury during the trial 
At one time, because the apprentice disputed one 
jf his assertions, he raised his clenched fist oyer 
liim, and threatened, with an oath, to knock him 
iown. The magistrate was obliged to threaten 
liini severely before he would keep quiet. 

The defendant was ordered to prison to be tried 
;he next day, time being given to make further in- 
quiries about his being a praedial. 

V. The next case was a complaint against an 
apprentice, for leaving his place in the boiling 
iiouse without asking permission. It appeared 
,hat he had been unwell during the evenmg, and 
it half past ten o'clock at night, being attacked 
nore severely, he left for a few moments, expecting 
.0 return. He, however, was soon taken so ill 
hat he could not go back, but was obliged to lie 
iown on the ground, where he remained until 
welve o'clock, when he recovered sufficiently to 
;reep home. His sickness was proved by a fellow 
ipprentice, and indeed his appearance at the bar 
clearly evinced it. He was punished by several 
lays imprisonment. With no little astonishment 
m view of such a decision, we inquired of Maj. 
D. whether the planters had the power to require 
their people to work as late as half past ten at 
night. He replied, " Certainly, the crops must be 
iccu-rdatany rate, and if they are suffering, the 
peopoc must he pressed the harder.''^* 

VI. The last case was a complaint against a 
man for not keeping up good fires under the boil- 
ers. He stoutly denied the charge; said he built 
as good fires as he could. He kept stuffing in the 
trash, and if it would not burn he could not help it. 
He was sentenced to imprisonment. 

Maj. C. said that these complaints were a fair 
specimen of the cases that came up daily, save 
that there were many more frivolous and ridicu- 
lous. By the trials which we witnessed we were 
painfully impressed with two things: 

1st. That the magistrate, with all his regard 
for the rights and welfare of the apprentices, 
showed a great and inexcusable partiality for the 
masters. The patience and consideration with 
which he heard the complaints of the latter, the levi- 
ty with which he regarded the defence of the 
former, the summary manner in which he despatch- 
ed the cases, and the character of some of his deci- 
sions, manifested no small degree of favoritism. 

2d That tlie whole proceedings of the special 
magistrates' courts are eminently calculated to 
perpetuate bad feeling between the masters and 
apprentices. The court-room is a constant scene 
of angry dispute between these parties. The 
master"exhausts his store of abuse and violence 
upon the apprentice, and the apprentice, embolden- 
ed by the place, and provoked by the abuse, retorts 
in language which he would never think of using 

' We learned subsequently from various authentic 
sources, that the master has not the power to compel his 
apprentices to labor more than nine hours per day on 
any condition, except in case of a fire, or some smular 
emeroency. If the call for labor in crop-time was to be 
set do"wn as an emergency similar to a "fire," and if in 
official decisions he took equal latitude, alas for the poor 
aoixentices! 



on the estate, and thus, whatever may be the deci- , 
sion of the magistrate, the parties return home," 
with feelings more embittered than ever. 

There were twenty-six persons imprisoned at 
the station-house, twenty-four were at hard labor, 
and two were in solitary confinement. The keep- 
er of the prison said, he had no difficulty in man- 
aging the prisoners. The keeper is a coloredS 
man, and so also is the sergeant and most of thei 
policemen. |i 

We visited one other station-house, in a distant 
part of the island, situated in the district over 
which Captain Cuppage presides. We witnessed 
several trials there which were similar in frivolity 
and meanness to those detailed above. We werej 
shocked with the mockery of justice, and the indif- 
ference to the interests of the negro apparent ir 
the course of the magistrate. It seemed that littl 
more was necessary than for the manager or over 
seer to make his complaint and swear to it, anc 
the apprentice was forthwith condemned to pun 
ishment. 

We never saw a set of men in whose counte- 
nances fierce passions of every name were s( 
strongly marked as in the overseers and manager 
who were assembled at the station-houses. Train 
ed up to use the whip and to tyrannize over thi 
slaves, their grim and evil expression accordef 
with their hateful occupation. 

Through the kindness of a friend inBridegtow 
we were favored with an interview with iMr. Jonef 
the superintendent of the rur-.l police— the whol 
body of police excepting those stationed m th 
town. Mr. J. has been connected with the polic 
since its first establishme..t in 1834. He assurec 
us that there was nothing in the local peculiar 
ties of the island, nor in the character of its popu 
lation, which forbade immediate emancipation i>- 
August, 1834. He had no doubt it would be pe: 
fectTy safe and decidedly profitable to the colony 

2. The good or bad working of the apprentic( 
ship depends mainly on the conduct of the ma 
ters. He was well acquainted with the characte 
and disposition of the negroes throughout th 
island, and he was ready to say, that if distu 
bances should arise either before or after 1840, 
would be because the people were goaded on t 
desperation by the planters, and not because the 









sought disturbance themselves 



^. Mr. J. declared unhesitatingly that crini 
had not increased since abolition, but rather th 
contrary. 

4. He represented the special magistrates as ti 
friends of the planters. They loved the dinw 
which they got at the planters' houses. The aj 
prentices had no sumptuous dinners to give them 
The magistrates felt under very little obligation o 
any kind to assert the cause of the apprentice ant 
secure him justice, while they were under ver] 
strong temptations to favor the master. 

5. Real estate had increased in value nearly fif 
ty percent, since abolition. There is such entir 
security of property, and the crops since 183 
have been so flattering, that capitalists from abroai 
are desirous of investing their funds in estate 
or merchandise. All are making high calculation 
for the future. 

6 Mr. J. testified that marriages had greati] 
increased since abolition. He had seen a dozei 
couples standing at one time on the church floor 
There had, he believed, been more marnagei 
within the last three years among the negro popu 
lation, than have occurred before smce the settle" 
ment of the island. 



BARB ADOES. 



» 



"We f include this chapter by subjoining two 
liiphly Jnieresting documents from special magis- 
trales. They were kindly furnished us by tlie 
authors in pursuance of an order from his excel- 
lency the Governor, authorizing the special ma- 
e;istrates to give us any official statements which 
we might desire. Being made acquainted with 
tliese instructions from the Governor, we address- 
ed written queries to Major Colthurst and Cap- 
tain Hamilton. We insert their replies at length. 

C iMMUNICATION FROM MAJOR COLTHURST, SPECIAL 
I MAGISTRATE. 

f The following fourteen questions on the work- 
fig of the apprenticeship system in this colony 
frere submitted to me on the 30th of March, 1837, 
requesting answers thereto. 

1. What is the number of apprenticed laborers 
in your district, and what is their character com- 
pared with other districts ? 

The number of apprenticed laborers, of all ages, 
in my district, is nine thousand four hundred and 
eighty, spread over two hundred and ninety-seven 
estates of various descriptions — some very large, 
and others again very small — much the greater 
number consisting of small lots in the near neigh- 
borhood of Bridgetown. Perhaps my district, 
in consequence of this minute subdivision of prop- 
erty, and its contact with the town, is the most 
troublesome district in the island ; and the charac- 
ter of the apprentices differs consequently from 
thi t in the more rural districts, where not above 
half the complaints are made. I attribute this to 
their ahnost daily intercourse with Bridgetown. 
•2. What is the state of agriculture in the island 1 
When the planters themselves admit that gen- 
iral cultivation was never in a better state, and 
;he plantations extremely clean, it is more than 
^resumptive proof that agriculture generally is in 
1 most prosperous condition. The vast crop of 
ianes grown this year proves this fact. Other crops 
ire also luxuriant. 

3. Is there any difficulty occasioned by the ap- 
)rentices refusing to work? 

No difficulty whatever has been experienced by 
he refusal of the apprentices to work. This is 
lone manfully and cheerfully, when they are treat- 
d with humanity and consideration by the mas- 
srs or managers. I have never known an instance 
o tlie contrary. 

4. Are the apprentices willing to work in their 
wn timel 

The apprentices are most willing to work in 
iieir own time. 

5. What is the number and character of the 
omplaints brought before you— are they increas- 
ig or otherwise ] 

The number of complaints brought before me, 
uring the last quarter, are much fewer than durin<^ 
ne corresponding quarter of the last year. Theit- 
haracter is also greatly improved. Nine com- 
laints out of ten made lately to me are for small 
npertmences or saucy answers, which, consider- 
\g the former and present position of the parties 
; naturally to be expected. The number of such 
jmplaints is much diminished. 

6 What is the state of crime among the an- 
rentices 1 a f 

What is usually denominated crime in the old 
Ountnes, is by no means frequent amono- the 

acks or colored persons. It is aniazmg how fjw 
mtenal breaches of the law occur in so extraor- 
inary a community. Some few cases of crime 
occasionally arise;— but when it is considered 



that the population of this island is nearly as 
dense as that of any part of China, and wholly 
uneducated, either by precept or example, this ab- 
sence of frequent crime excites our wonder, and 
is highly creditable to the negroes. 1 sincerely 
believe there is po such person, of that class culled 
at home, an accomplished villain, to be found in 
the whole island. — Having discharged the duties 
of a general justice of the peace in Ireland, for 
above twenty-four years, where crimes of a very 
aggravated nature were perpetrated almost daily. 
I cannot help contrasting the situation of that couu' 
try with this colony, where I do not hesitate to 
say perfect tranquillity exists. 

7. Have the apprentices much respect for law "? 
It is, perhaps, difficult to answer this question 

satisfactorily, as it has been so short a time since 
they enjoyed the blessing of equal laws. To ap- 
preciate just laws, time, and the experience of 
the benefit arising from them must be felt. That 
the apprentices do not, to any material extent, 
outrage the law, is certain ; and hence it may be 
inferred that they respect it. 

8. Do you find a spirit of revenge among the 
negroes 1 

From my general knowledge of the negro cha- 
racter in other countries, as well as the study of it 
here, I do not consider them by any means a re- 
vengeful people. Petty dislikes are frequent, but 
any thing like a deep spirit of revenge for former 
injuries does not exist, nor is it for one moment to 
be dreaded. 

9. Is there any sense of insecurity arising from 
emancipation 1 

Not the most remote feeling of insecurity exists 
arising from emancipation ; far the contrary. 
All sensible and reasonable men think the pros- 
pects before them most cheering, and would not 
go back to the old systora on any account what- 
ever. There are some, however, who croak and 
forebode evil ; but they are few in number, and of 
no intelligence, — such as are to be found in every 
community. 

10. What is the prospect for 1840 ?— for 1838 % 
This question is answered I hope satisfac- 
torily above. On the termination of the two pe- 
riods no evil is to be reasonably anticipated, with 
the exception of a few days' idleness. 

11. Are the planters generally satisfied with the 
apprenticeship, or would they return back to the 
old system 1 

The whole body of respectable planters are ful 
ly satisfied with the apprenticeship, and would no< 
go back to the old system on any account what- 
ever. A few young managers, whose opinions 
are utterly worthless, would perhaps have no ob 
jection to be put again into their puny authority. 

Iw. Do you think it would have been danger 
ous for the slaves in this island to have been en- 
tirely emancipated in 1834 1 

I do not think it would have been productive oJ 
danger, had the slaves of this island been fully 
emancipated in 1834 ; which is proved by what 
has taken place in another colony. 

13. Has emancipation been a decided blessing 
to this island, or has it been otherwise 1 

Emancipation has been, under God, the greatest 
blessing ever conferred upon this island. All 
good and respectable men fully admit it. This is 
manifest tiiroughout the whole progress of this 
mighty change. Whatever may be said of ih* 
vast benefit conferred upon the slaves, in right 
judgment the slave owner was the greatest gainer 
afler all. , 



70 



BARBADOES. 



14. Arc the apprentices disposed to purchase 
their freedom 1 How have those conducted them- 
selves who have purchased it 1 

The apprentices are inclined to purchase their 
discharge, particularly when misunderstandings 
occur with their masters. When they obtain their 
discharge they generally labor in the trades and 
occupations they were previously accustomed to, 
and conduct themselves well. The discharged 
apprentices seldom take to drinking. Indeed the 
negro and colored population are the most tem- 
perate persons I ever knew of their class. The 
experience of nearly forty years in various public 
situations, confirms me in this very important fact. 

The answers I have had the honor to give to the 
questions submitted to me, have been given most 
conscientiously, and to the best of my judgment 
are a faithful picture of the working of the appren- 
ticeship in this island, as far as relates to the in- 
quiries made.— John B. CoUhurst, SpexialJustice 
of the Peace, District A, Rural Division. 

COMMUNICATION FROM C.\PT. HAMILTON. 

Barbadoes, April 4th, 1837. 
Gentlemen, 

Presuming that you have kept a copy of the 
questions* you sent me, I shall therefore only send 
the answers. 

1. There are at present five thousand nine hun- 
dred and thirty male, and six thousand six hun- 
dred and eighty-nine female apprentices in my 
district, (B,) which comprises a part of the par- 
ishes of Christ Church and St. George. Their 
conduct, compared with the neighboring districts, 
is good. 

'2. The state of agriculture is very flourishing. 
Experienced planters acknowledge that it is gen- 
erally far superior to what it was during slavery. 

3. Where the managers are kind and temper- 
ate, they have not any'trouble with the laborers. 

4. The apprentices are generally willing to 
work for wages in their own time. 

5. The average number of complaints tried by 
me, last year, ending December, was one thousand 
nine hundred and thirty-two. The average num- 
ber of apprentices in the district during that time 
was twelve thousand seven hundred. Offences, 
pnerally speaking, are not of any magnitude, 
rhey do not increase, but fluctuate according to 
the season of the year. 

6. The state of crime is not so bad by any means 
as we might have expected among the negroes — 
just released from such a degrading bondage. 
Considering the state of ignorance in which they 
have been kept, and the immoral examples set 
them by the lower class of whites, it is matter of 
astonishment that they should behave so well. 

7. The apprentices would have a great respect 
for law, were it not for the erroneous proceedings 
of the managers, overseers, &c., in taking them 
before the magistrates for every petty offence, and 
often abusing the magistrate in the presence of 
the apprentices, when his decision does not please 
them. The consequence is, that the apprentices 
too often get indifferent to law, and have been 
known to say that they cared not about going to 
prison, and that they' would do just as "they did 
before as soon as they were released. 

8. The apprentices in this colony are generally 
considered a peaceable race. All acts of revenge 
committed by them originate in jealousy, as, for 
instance, between husband and wife. 

* The same intpn-osalories were propomirled to Capt. 
namilton which have been already inserted in Major Col- 
'h irst's coinmunicat'on. 



9. Not the slightest sense of insecurity. As i 
proof of this, property has, since the commencf 
ment of the apprenticeship, increased in valu 
considerably — at least one third. 

10. The change which will take place in 183& 
in my opinion, will occasion a great deal of dis 
content among those called praedials— which wil 
not subside for some months. They ought ti 
have been all emancipated at the same period, 
cannot foresee any bad eflects that will ensue fron 
the change in 1840, except those mentioned here 
after. 

11. The most prejudiced planters would no 
return to the old system if they possibly could 
They admit that they get more work from th( 
laborers now than they formerly did, and they arii 
relieved from a great responsibility. ' 

12. It is my opinion, that if entire emancipa; 
tion had taken place in 1834, no more difficultj 
would have followed beyond what we may nat 
urally expect in 1840. It will then take two o- 
three months before the emancipated people finall} 
settle themselves. I -"o not consider the appren, 
tice more fit or better prepared for entire freedoiTL 
now than he was in 1834. 

13. I consider, most undoubtedly, that emanci 
pation has been a decided blessing to the colony. 

14. They are much disposed to purchase thd' 
remainder of the apprenticeship term. Their con/ 
duct after they become free is good. 

I hope the foregoing answers and informatior 
may be of service to you in your laudable par] 
suits, for which I wish you every success. 

I am, gentlemen, your ob't serv't, 

Jos. Hamilton, Special Justice. 

TESTIMONY OP CLERGYMEN AND MISSIONARIES. 

There are three religious denominations at thi 
present time in Barbadoes — Episcopalians, Wes 
leyans, and Moravians. The former have abou 
twenty clergymen, including the bishop rnd arch 
deacon. The bishop was absent during our visit 
and we did not see him ; but as far as we coulc ; 
learn, while in some of his political measures, ai' 
a member of the council, he has benefited the col 
ored population, his general influence has beer 
unfavorable to tlieir moral and spiritual welfare 
He has discountenanced and defeated several at 
tempts made by his rectors and curates to abolisl 
the odious distmctions of color in their churches. 

We were led to form an unfavorable opinion o 
the Bisbr- " .ourse, from observing among the in 
telligenl ,>(^'f? well-disposed classes' of colored pec 
pie, the current use of the phrase, " bishop's man,' 
and " no bishop's man," applied to different rec( 
tors and curates. Those that they were averse 
to, either as pro-slavery or pro-prejudice charac 
ters, they usually branded as " bishop's men,' 
while those whom they esteemed their friends 
they designated as " no bishop's men." 

The archdeacon has already been introduced t( 
the reader. We enjoyed several interviews wit! 
him, and were constrained to admire him for his 
integrity, independence and piety. He spoke ir 
terms of strong condemnation of slavery, and of 
the apprenticeship system. He was a determines 
advocate of entire and immediate emancipation: 
both from principle and policy. He also discoun 
tenanced prejudice, both in the church and in thd 
social circle. The first time we had the pleasure 
of meeting him was at the house of a colored gen- 
tleman in Bridgetown where we were breakfast- 
ing. He called in incidentally, while we wen 
sitting at table, and exhibited all the familiariij 
of \ frequent visitant. 



L> AKbAUUES. 



71 



I One of the most worthy and devoted men whom 
' we met in Barbadoes was the Rev. Mr. Cummins, 
curate of St. Paul's church, in Bridgetown. The 
nrsl Sabbath after our arrival at the island we at- 
.tended his church. It is emphatically a free 
cliurch. Distinctions of color are nowhere re- 
cognized. There is the most complete intermin- 
gling of colors throughout the house. In one pew 
were seen a family of whites, in the next a family 
of colored people, and in the next perhaps a 
family of blacks. In the same pews white and 
colored persons sat side by side. The floor and 
gallery presented the same promiscuous blending 
qf hues and shades. We sat in a pew with white 
and colored people. In the pew before and m 
that behind us the sitting was equally indiscrim- 
inate. The audience were kneeling in their morn- 
mg devotions when we entered, and we were 
.struck with the different colors bowing side by 
side as we passed down the aisles. There is 
probably no clergyman in the island who has se- 
icured so perfectly the affections of iiis people as 
iMr. C. He IS of course ", no bishop's man." He 
^:3 constpntl)'^ employed iri promoting the spiritual 
and mrral good of his people, of whatever com- 
iplexion. The annual examinatio:i of the Sabbath 
isc'iiool connected with St. Paul's occurred while 
iwe were in the island, and we were favored with 
*he privilege of attending it. There were about 
jthree hundred pupils present, of all ages, from fifty 
|down to three years. There were all colors- 
white, tawny, and ebon black. The white child- 
ren were classed with the colored and black, in 
Utter violation of those principles of classification 
in vogue throughout the Sabbath schools of our 
own country. The examination was chiefly con- 
ducted by Mr. Cummins. At the close of the ex- 
amination about fifty of the girls, and among 
them the daughter of Mr. Cummins, were ar- 
ranged in front of the altar, with the female teach- 
ers in the rear of them, and all united in singing 
ft hymn written for the occasion. Part of the 
teachers were colored and part white, as were also 
the scholars, and they stood side by side, mingled 
promiscuously together. This is altogether the 
best Sabbath school in the island. 

After the exei-cises were closed, we were inti-o- 
duced, by a colored gentleman who accompanied 
us to the examination, to Mr. Cummins, the Rev. 
Mr. Packer, and the Rev. Mr. Rowe, master of 
the public school in Bridgetown. By request of 
Mr. C, we accompanied him to hi. -.e, where 

we enjoyed an interview with him . ..^ the other 
gentlemen just mentioned. Mr. C. informed us 
that his Sabbath school was commenced in 1833; 
but was quite small and inefficient until after 1834. 
It now numbers more than four hundred scholars. 
Mr. C. spoke of prejudice. It had wonderfully 
decreased within the last three years. He said 
^e could scarcely credit the testimony of his own 
jsenses, when he looked around on the change 
[which had taken place. Many now associate 
with colored persons, and sit with them in the 
church, who once would have scorned to be found 
near them. Mr. C. and the other clergymen 
Stated, that there had been an increase of places 
if worship and of clergymen smce abolition. All 
•he churches are now crowded, and there is a 
grdwing demand for more. The negroes mani- 
fest an increasing desire for religious Instruction. 
In respect to morals, they represent the people as 
oeing greatly improved. They spoke of the gen- 
eral respect which was now paid to the institution 
of marriage among the negroes. Mr. C. said, he 



was convinced that the blacks had as much natu- 
ral talent and capacity for learning as the whites:. 
He does not know any difference. Mr. Packer,who 
was formerly rector of St. Thomas' parish, and 
has been a public teacher of children of all colors, 
expressed the same opniion. Mr. Rowe said, that 
before he took charge of the white school, he was 
the teacher of one of the free schools for blacks, and 
he testified that the latter had just as much ca- 
pacity for acquiring any kind of knowledge, as 
much inquisltivencss, and ingenuity, as the former. 

Accompanied by an intelligent gentleman of 
Bridgetown, we visited two tlourishing schools 
for colored children, connected with the Episcopal 
church, and under the care of the Bishop. lu the 
male school, there were one hundred and ninety-five 
scholars, under the superintendence of one master, 
who is himself a black man, and was educated 
and trained up in the sam.e school. He is assisted 
by several of his scholars, as monitors and teach- 
ers. It was, altogether, the best specimen of a well- 
regulated scliool which we saw in the West Indies. 

The present instructor has had charge of the 
school two years. It has increased considerably 
since abolition. Before the first of August, 1834, 
the whole number of names on the catalogue was 
a little above one hundred, and the average at- 
tendance was seventy-five. The number imme- 
diately increased, and now the average attendance 
is above two hundred. Of this number at least 
sixty are the children of apprentices. 

We visited also the infant school, established 
but two weeks previous. Mr. S. the teacher, who 
has been for many years an instructor, says he 
finds them as apt to learn as any children he ever 
taught. He said he was surprised to see how 
soon the instructions of the school-room were car- 
ried to the homes of the children, and caught up 
by their parents. 

The very first night after the school closed, in 
passing through the streets, he heard the children 
repeating what they had been taught, and the pa- 
rents learning the songs from their children's lips. 
Mr. S. has a hundred children already in his 
school, and additions were making daily. He 
found among the negro parents much interest in 
the school. 

WESI.EYAN MISSI0N.4RIES. 

We called on the Rev. Mr. Fidler, the superin- 
tendent of the Wesleyan missions in Barbadoes. 
Mr. P. resides in Bridgetown, and preaches 
mostly in the chapel in town. He has been in 
the West Indies twelve years, and in Barbadoes 
about two years. Mr. F. informed us that there 
were three Wesleyan missionaries in the island, 
JDesides four or five local preachers, one of whom 
is a black man. There are about one thousand 
membei-s belonging to their body, the greater part 
of whom live in town. Two hundred and thirty- 
five were added during the year 1836, being by 
far the largest number added in any one year since 
they be2;an their operations in the island. 

A brief review of the history of the Wesleyan 
Methodists in Barbadoes, will serve to show the 
great change which has been taking place in public 
sentiment respecting the labors of missionaries. In 
the year 18-23, not long after the establishment 
of the Wesleyan church in the island, the chapel 
in Bridgetown was destroyed by a mob. Not 
one stone was left upon another. They carried 
the fragments for miles away from the site, and 
scattered them about in every direction, so that 
the chapel might never be rebuilt. Some ■: •' '^ 



72 



BARBADOES. 



instigators and chief actors in this outrage, were 
" g-entlemen of property and standing," residents 
of Biidgetown. The first morning after the out- 
rage began, the mob sought for the Rev. Mr. 
Shrewsbury, the missionary, tiireatening liis life, 
and Ire was obliged to flee precipitately from 
the island, with his wife. He was hunted like a 
wild beast, and it is thought that he would have 
been torn in pieces if he had been found. Not an 
effort or a movement was made to quell the mob, 
during their assault upon tlie chapel. The first 
men of the island connived at the violence — se- 
cretly rejoicing in what they supposed would be 
the extermination of Methodism from the coun- 
try. The governor, Sir Henry Ward, utterly re- 
fused to interfere, and would not suffer the militia 
to repair to the spot, though a mere handful of sol- 
diers could have instantaneously routed the whole 
assemblage. 

The occasion of this riot was partly the efforts 
made by the Wesleyans to instruct the negroes, 
and still more the circumstance of a letter being 
written by Mr. Shrewsbury, and published in an 
English paper, which contained some severe 
strictures on the morals of the Barbadians. A 
planter informed us that the riot grew out of a 
suspicion that Mr. S. Avas " leagued with the 
Wilberforce party in England." 

Since the re-establishment of Wesleyanism in 
this island, it has continued to struggle against the 
opposition of the Bishop, and most of the clergy, 
and against the inveterate prejudices of nearly the 
whole of the white community. The missiona- 
ries have been discouraged, and in many in- 
stances absolutely prohibited from preaching on 
the estates. These circumstances have greatly re- 
tarded the progress of religious instruction through 
their means. But this state of things had been 
very much altered since the abolition of slavery. 
There are several estates now open to the mission- 
aries. Mr. P. mentioned several places in the 
country, where he was then purchasing land, and 
erecting chapels. He also stated, that one man, 
who aided in pulling down the chapel in 18'23, 
had offered ground for a new chapel, and proffer- 
ed the free use of a building near by, for I'eligious 
meetings and a school, till it could be erected. 

The Wesleyan chapel in Bridgetown is a spa- 
cious building, well filled with worshippers every 
Sabbath. We attended service there frequently, 
and observed the same indiscriminate sitting of 
the various colors, which is described in the ac- 
count of St. Paul's church. 

The Wesleyan missionaries have stimulated 
the clergy to greater diligence and faithfulness, 
and have especially induced them to turn their at- 
tention to the negro population more than they did 
formerly. 

There are several local preachers connected 
with the Wesleyan mission in Barbadoes, who 
have been actively laboring to promote religion 
among the apprentices. Two of these are con- 
verted soldiers in his Majesty's service — acting 
sergeants of the troops stationed in the island. 
While we were in Barbadoes, these pious men ap- 
plied for a discharge from the army, intending to 
devote themselves exclusively to the work of teach- 
ing and preaching. Another of the local preach- 
ers is a negro man, of ronsiderable talent and ex- 
alted piety, highly esteemed among his mission- 
ary brethren for his labors of love. 

THE MORAVIAN MISSION. 

Oi the Moravians, we learned but little. Cir- 



cumstances unavoidably prevented us from visit 
ing any of the stations, and also from calling o: 
any of the missionaries. We were informed tha 
tiiere were three stations in the island, one ii 
Bridgetown, and two in the country, and wn 
learned in general terms, that the few missions 
ries there, were laboring with their chai-acteristi 
devoted ness, assiduity, and self-denial, for th 
spiritual welfare of the negro population. 






CHAPTER III. 

COLORED POPULATION. 

The colored, or as they were termed previoui 
to abolition, by way of distinction, the free color 
ed population, amount in Barbadoes to nearM 
thirty thousand. They are composed chiefly op 
the mixed race, whose paternal connection, ihoug!,' 
illegitimate, secured to them freedom at thei 
birth, and subsequently the advantages of an edvi 
cation more or less extensive. There are sonii 
blacks among them, however, who were free bortli 
or obtained their freedom at an early period, an< 
have since, by great assiduity, attained an honon 
able standing. 

During our stay in Barbadoes, we had mani) 
invitations to the houses of colored gentlemen, oi 
which we were glad to avail ourselves whenever i 
was possible. At an early period after our ar 
rival, we were invited to dine with Thomas. Ha: 
ris, Esq. He politely sent his chaise for us, as'i 
resided about a mile from our residence. At hi 
table, we met two other colored gentlemen, N.i 
Thorne of Bridgetown, and Mr. Prescod, a youii; 
gentleman of much intelligence and ability 
There was also at the table a niece o^'Mr. Harr, 
a modest and highly interesting young lady. 1 
the luxuries and delicacies of a tropical din. 
loaded the board — an epicurean variety of meat , 
flesh, fowl, and fish — of vegetables, pastries, frui' 
and nuts, and that invariable accompaniment I 
a West India dinner, wine. 

,, The dinner was enlivened by an interest! i; 
and well sustained conversation respecting the i ii 
olition of slavery, the present state of the color y 
and its prospects for the future. Lively disci s, 
sions were maintained on points where th<!re chc it 
ced to be a difference of opinion, and we admiv li 
the liberality of the views which were thus eliciti 1 
We are certainly prepared to say, and that t' ( 
without feeling that we draw any invidious d :^ 
tinctions, that in style of conversation, in ingen i 
ity and ability of argument, this company woulc 
compare with any company of white geptlem ■' 
that we met in the island. In that circle of color 
gentlemen, were the keen sallies of wit, the adn.i 
rable repartee, the satire now severe, now playfii' 
upon the measures of the colonial government, ti 
able exposure of aristocratit intolerance, of plan 
tership ciiicanery, of plottings and counterplotting' 
in high places — the strictures on the intrigues < 
the special magistrates and managers, and withal, 
the just and indignant reprobation of the uniform 
oppressions which have disabled and crushed tha 
colored people. ^ 

The views of these gentlemen with regard to tlvj 
present state of the island, we found to differ in 
some respects from those of the planters and spe- 
cial magistrates. They seemed to regard both' 
those classes of men with suspicion. The planters 
they represented as being still, at least the mass of 
them, under the influence of the strong habits of i 
tyrannizing and cruelty which they formed during.' 



BARBADOE'... 



73 



eUivery. The prohibitions and penalties of the 
uh/ are not sufficient to prevent occasional and 
errn frequent outbreakings of violence, so that 
the negroes even yet sufter much of the rigor of 
slavery. In regard to the special magistrates, they 
ftllegethat they are greatly controlled by the plan- 
tpfs. They associate with the planters, dine with 
the planters, lounge on the planters' sofas, and 
msrry the planters' daughters. Such intimacies ai 
tltse, the gentlemen very plausibly argued, could 
nK exist without strongly biasing thi; magistrate ■ 
t^ards the planters, and rendering it almost ini- 
jis.sible for them to administer equal justice to the. 
jSior apprentice, who, unfortunately, had no sump ■ 
uipus dmners to give them, no luxurious sofas tj 
ofier them, nor dowered daughters to pi'esenl in 
marriage. 

The gentlemen testified to the industry and sub- 
ordmalion of the apprentices. They had imprd'ed 
the general cultivation of the island, and they were 
reaping for their masters greater crops than they 
did wliile slaves. The whole company united in 
saying that many blessings had already resulted 
from the abolition of slavery — imperfect as that 
abolition was. Real estate had advanced in value 
at least one third. The tear of insurrection had 
been removed; invasions of property, such as oc- 
curred during slavery, the firing of cane-fields, the 
demolition of houses, &.C., were no longer appre- 
hended. Marriage was spreading among the ap- 
prentices, and the general morals of the whole 
community, high and low, white, colored, and 
black, were rapidly improving. 

At ten o'clock \v* took leave of Mr. Harris and 
his interesting friends. We retired with feelings 
of pride and gratification that we had been privi- 
leged to join a company which, though wearing 
the badge of a proscribed race, displayed in happy 
combination, the treasures of genuine intelligence, 
and the graces of accomplished manners. We 
were happy to meet in that social circle a son of 
New England, and a graduate of one of her uni- 
versities. Mr. H. went to the West Indies a few 
months after the abolition of slavery. He took 
with him all the prejudices common to our country, 
as well as a determined hostility to abolition prin- 
ci Dies and measures. A brief observation of the 
astonishing results of abolition in those islands, 
eflfectually disarmed him of the latter, and made 
him the decided and zealous advocate of immedi- 
ate emancipation. He established himself in bu- 
siness in Barbadoes, where hehas been living the 
greater part of the time since he left h'ls native 
'Ountry. His prejudices did not long survive his 
abandonment of anti-abolition sentiments. We 
rejoiced to find him on the occasion above referred 
to, moving in the circle of colored society, with all 
the freedom of a fomillar guest, and prepared most 
cordially to unite with us in the wish that all our 
prejudiced countrymen could witness similar ex- 
hibitions. 

The gentleman at whose table we had the pleas- 
ure to dine, was born a slave, and remained such 
until he was seventeen years of age. After ob- 
taining his freedom, he engaged as a clerk in a 
mercantile establishment, and soon attracted atten- 
tion by his business talents. About the same pe- 
riod he warmly espoused the cause of the free 
colored people, who were doubly crushed under a 
load of civd and political impositions, and a still 
heavier one of prejudice. He soon made himself 



consi. 'icuous by his manly defence of the rights of 
his brethren against the encroachments of the pub- 
lic s.uthorities, and incurred the marked displeas- 
ure of several influential characters. After a pro- 
tracted struggle for the civil immunities of the 
colored people, during which he repeatedly came 
inio collision with public men, and was often ar- 
v.'iigned before the public tribunals ; finding his 
labors ineffectual, he left the island and went tc 
England. He spent some time there and in France, 
moving on a footing of honorable equality among 
the distinguished abolitionists of those countries. 
There, amid the free influences and the generous 
sympathies which welcomed and surrounded him, 
— his whole character ripened in those manly gra- 
ces and accomplishments which now so eminently 
distinguish him. 

Since his i-eturn to Barbadoes, Mr. H. has not 
taken so public a part in political controversies as 
he did formerly, but is by no means indifferent to 
passing events. There is not, we venture to say, 
within the colony, a keener or more sagacious ob- 
server of its institutions, its public men and their 
measures. 

When witnessing the exhibitions of his manly 
spirit, and listening to his eloquent and glowing 
narratives of his struggles against the political 
oppressions which ground to the dust himself and 
his brethren, we could scarcely credit the fact that 
he was himself born and reared to manhood — a 

SLAVE. 

BREAKFAST AT MR. THORNE's. 

By invitation we took breakfast with Mr. Josepn 
Thorne, whom we met at Mr. Harris's. Mr. T. 
resides in Bridgetown. In the parlor, we met two 
colored gentlemen— the Rev. Mr. Hamilton, a lo- 
cal Wesleyan preacher, and Mr. Cummins, a 
merchant of Bridgetown, mentioned in a previous 
chapter. We were struck with the scientific ap- 
pearance of Mr. Thome's parlor. On one side 
was a large library of religious, historical, and 
literary works, the selection of which displayed 
no small taste and judgment. On the opposite 
side of the room vk^as a fine cabinet of minerals 
and shells. In one corner stood a number of curi- 
ous relics of the aboriginal Caribs, such as bows 
and arrows, etc., together with interesting fossil 
remains. On the tops of the book-cases and min- 
eral stand, were birds of rare species, procured 
from the South American Continent. The centre 
table was ornamented .with shells, specimens of 
petrifactions, and elegantly bound books. The 
remainder of the furniture of the room was costly 
and elegant. Before breakfast two of Mr. Thome's 
children, little boys of six and four, stepped in to 
salute the company. They were of a bright yel- 
low, with slightly curled hair. When they had 
shaken hands with each of the company, they 
withdrew from the parlor and were seen no more. 
Their manners and demeanor indicated the teach- 
ings of an admirable mother, and we were not a 
little curious to see the lady of whose taste and 
delicate sense of propriety we had witnessed so 
attractive a specimen in her children. At the 
breakfast table we were introduced to Mrs. Thome, 
and we soon discovered from her dignified air. 
from the chaste and elevated style of her conver- 
sation, from her intelligence, modesty and refine- 
ment, that we were in the presence of a highly 
accomplished lady. The conversation was chie& 



74 



B ARBADOES. 



ty on subjects connected with our mission. All 
spoke with great gratitude of the downfall of sla- 
very. It was not the slaves alone tiiai were in- 
terested in that event. Political oppression, preju- 
dice, and licentiousness had combined greatly to 
legrade the colored community, but these evils 
•vere now gradually lessening, and would soon 
wholly disappear after the final extinction of sla- 
very — the parent of them all. 

Several facts were stated to show the great rise 
in the value of real estate since 1834. In one in- 
stance a gentleman bought a sugar estate for nine- 
teen thousand pounds sterling, and the very next 
year, after taking oif a crop from which he real- 
ized a profit of three thousand pounds sterling, he 
sold the estate for thirty thousand pounds sterling. 
It has frequently happened within two years that 
persons wishing to purchase estates would inquire 
the price of particular properties, and would hes- 
itate to give what was demanded. Probably 
soon after they would return to close the bargain, 
and find that the price was increased by several 
hundreds of pounds ; they would go away again, 
reluctant to purchase, and return a third time, 
when they would find the price again raised, and 
would finally, be glad to buy at almost any price. 
It was very difficult to purchase sugar estates now, 
whereas previous to the abolition of slavery, they 
were, like the slaves, a drug in the market. 

Mr. Joseph Thorne is a gentleman of fortjr-five, 
of a dark mulatto complexion, with the negro 
features and hair. He was horn a slave^ and re- 
mained so until about twenty years of age. This 
fact we learned from the manager of the Belle 
estate, on v/hich Mr. T. was born and raised a 
slave. It was an interesting coincidence, that on 
the occasion of our visit to the Belle estate we 
were indebted to Mr. Thorne, the (ormer properly 
of that estate, for his horse and chaise, which he 
politely proffered to us. Mr. T. employs much of 
his time in laboring among the colored people in 
town, and among the apprentices on the estates, 
in the capacity of lay-preacher. In this way he 
renders himself very useful. Being very compe- 
tent, both by piety and talents, for the work, and 
possessing more perhaps than any missionary, the 
confidence of the planters, he is admitted to many 
estates, to lecture the apprentices on religious and 
moral duties. Mr. T. is a member of the Epis- 
copal church. 

BREAKFAST AT MR. PRESCOD's. 

We next had the pleasure of breakfasting with 
Mr. Prescod. Our esteemed friend, Mr. Harris, 
was of the company. Mr. P. is a young man, 
but lately married. His wife and himself were 
both liberally educated in England. He was the 
late editor of the New Times, a weekly paper es- 
tablished since the abolition of slavery, and devo- 
ted chiefly to the interests of the colored communi- 
ty. It was the first periodical and the only one 
which advocated the rights of the colored people, 
and this it did with the utmost fearlessness and 
independence. It Ijoldly exposed oppression, 
whether emanating from the government house or 
originating in the colonial assembly. The meas- 
ures of all parties, and the conduct of every pub- 
lic man, were subject to its scrutiny, and when 
occasion required, to its stern rebuke. Mr. P. ex- 
hibits a thorough acquaintance with the politics 
of the country, and with the position of the vari- 
ous parties. He is familiar with the spirit and 
operations of the white gentry — far more .so, it 
HTOuld seem, than many of his brethren who have 



been repeatedly deoeived by their professions 
increasing liberality, and their show of extendir 
civil immunities, which after all proved to be pra 
tical nullities, and as such were denounced bl 
Mr. P. at the outset. A few years ago the colo 
ed people mildly petitioned the legislature for 
removal of their disabilities. Their remonstrani 
was too reasonable to be wholly disregard© 
Something must be done which would at lea 
bear the semblance of favoring the object of tl 
petitioners. Accordingly the obnoxious clausi 
were repealed, and the colored people were admi 
ted to the polls. But the qualification was mac 
three times greater than that required of white ci 
izens. This virtually nullified the extension o 
privilege, and actually confirmed the disabilitid 
of which it was a pretended abrogation. Tl' 
colored people, in their credulity, hailed the appu 
rent enfranchisement, and had a public rejoicim 
on the occasion. But the delusion could not e;t 
cape the discrimination of Mr. P. He detected I 
at once, and exposed it, and incurred the displea.i 
ure of the credulous people of color by refusini 
to participate in their premature rejoicings. H: 
soon succeeded however in convincing his brethrei 
that the new provision was a mockery of thei 
wrongs, and that the assembly had only adde( 
insult to past injuries. Mr. P. now urged tbi 
colored people to be patient, as the great change 
which were working in the colony must bring t 
them all the rights of which they had been s 
cruelly deprived. On the subject of prejudic 
he spoke just as a man of keen sensibilities am 
manly spn-it might be expected to speak, who ha* 
himself been its victim. He was accustomed t 
being flouted, scorned and contemned by thos 
whom he could not but regard as his inferiors bot 
in native talents and education. He had submit 
ted to be forever debarred from offices which wer 
filled by men far less worthy except in the singl 
qualification of a u-hite skin, which however wa 
paramount to all other virtues and acquirements 
He had seen himself and his accomplished wit 
excluded from the society of whites, though keen 
ly conscious of their capacity to move and shin 
in the most elevated social circles. After all this 
it may readily be conceived how Mr. P. wouli 
speak of prejudice. But while he spoke bitterbi 
of the past, he was inspired with buoyancy of hopi 
as he cast his eye to the future. He was confiden 
that prejudice would disappear. It had alread; 
diminished very much, and it would ere long b 
wholly exterminated. 

Mr. P. gave a sprightly picture of the industr: 
of the negroes. It was common, he said, to hea 
them called lazy, but this was not true. Tha 
they often appeared to be indolent, especially thos 
about the town, was true; but it was either b( 
cause they had no work to do, or were asked t. 
work without reasonable wages. He had oftei 
been amused at their conduct, when solicited to di 
small jobs— such as carrying baggage, loading o 
unloading a vessel, or the like, if oflfered a ver} 
small compensation, as was generally the case a 
first, they would stretch themselves on the ground 
and with a sleepy look, and lazy tone, would say 
" O, I can't do it, sir." Sometimes the applicant 
would turn away at once, thinking that they wer 
unwilling to work, and cursing " the lazy devils ;' 
«but occasionally they would try the efficacy o< 
offering a larger compensation, when instantly th- 
negroes would spring to their feet, and the loun, 
ing inert mass would appear all activity. 

^'Ve are very willing to hold up Mr. P. as 7 



BARBADOES. 



75 



specimen of what colored people generally may 
become with proper cultivation, or to use the lan- 
guage, of one of their cwn number,* " with free 
minds and space to rise." 

We have purposely refrained from speaking of 
Mrs. P., lest any thing we should be willing to 
say respecting h6r, might seem to be adulation. 
However, having alluded to her, we will say that 
it has seldom fallen to our lot to meet with her 
superior. 

BREAKFAST AT MR. LOXDON EOURNE'.S. 

After what has been said in this chapter to try 
the patience and irritate the nerves of the prejudi- 
ced, if there should be such among our readers, 
they will doubtless deem it quite intolerable to be 
introduced, not as hitherto to a family in whose 
faces the lineaments and the complexion of the 
white man are discernible, relieving the ebon hue, 
but to a household of genuine unadulterated ne- 
groes. We cordially accepted an invitation to 
breakfast with Mr. London Bourne. If the read- 
er's horror of amalgamation does not allow him 
to join us at the table, perhaps he will consent to 
retire to the parlor, whence, without fear of contam- 
iiiation, he may safely view us through the fold- 
ing doors, and note down our several positions 
around the board. At the head of the table pre- 
sides, with much dignity, Mrs. Bourne; at the 
end opposite, sits Mr. Bourne — both of the glos- 
siest jet; the thick matted hair of Mr. B. slightly 
frosted with age. He has an affable, open coun- 
tenance, in which the radiance of an amiable spi- 
rit, and the lustre of a sprightly intellect; happily 
commingle, and illuminate the sable covering. 
On either hand of Mr. B. ice sit, occupying the 
posts of honor. On the right and left of Mrs. B., 
and at the opposite corners from us, sit two other 
guests, one a colored merchant, and the other a 
young son-in-law of Mr. B., whose face is the 
very double extract of blackness; for which his 
intelligence, the splendor of his dress, and the ele- 
gance of his manners, can make to be sure but 
fclight atonement ! The middle seats are filled on 
the one side by an unmarried daughter of Mr. B., 
and on the other side by a promising son of eleven, 
who is to start on the morrow for Edinburgh, 
where he is to I'emain until he has received the 
honors of Scotland's far famed university. 

We shall doubtless be thought by some of our 
readers to glory in our shame. Be it so. We 
did glory in joining the company which we have 
iust d'scribed. On the present occasion we had 
a fair opportunity of testing the merits of an un- 
mixed negro party, and of determining how far 
the various excellences of the gentlemen and la- 
dies previously noticed were attributable to the 
admixture of English blood. We are compelled 
in candor to say. that the company of blacks did 
not fall a whit below those of the colored race in 
any respect. We conversed on the same general 
topics, which, of course, were introduced where- 
ever we went. The gentlemen showed an inti- 
mate acquaintance with the state of the colony, 
with the merits of the apprenticeship system, 
and with the movements of the colonial govern- 
ment. As for Mrs. B., she presided at the table 
with great ease, dignity, self-possession, and 
grace. Her occasional remarks, made with gen- 
uine modesty, indicated good sense and discrimina- 
tion. Among other topics of conversation, preju- 

, * Thomas C. Brown, who renounced colonization, re- 
'^urned from a disastrous and alrr.ost latal expedition to 
Liberia, and afterwards went to the West Indies, in quest 



dice was not forgotten. The company were in- 
quisitive as to the extent of it in the United States. 
We informed them that it appeared to be strongest 
in those states which held no slaves, that it pre- 
vailed among professing Christians, and that it 
was most manifestly seen in the house of God. 
We also intimated, in as delicate a manner as 
possible, that in almost any part of the United 
States such a table-scene as we then presented 
would be reprobated and denounced, if indeed it 
escaped the summary vengeance of tlic mob. We 
were highly gratified with their views of the prop- 
er way for the colored people to act in respect to 
pi-ejudice. They said tliey were persuaded that 
their policy was to wait patiently for the operation 
of those inlluences which were now at work for 
the removal of prejudice. " Social inlcrcourze" 
they said, " was not a thing to be gained hy pusli- 
ing." " They could not go to it, but it would 
come to them." It was for them, however, to main- 
tain an upright, dignified course, to be uniformly 
courteous, to seek the cultivation of their minds, 
and strive zealously for substantial worth, and by 
such means, and such alone, they could aid in 
overcoming prejudice. 

Mr. Bourne was a slave until he was twenty- 
three years old. He was )iurchased by his father, 
a free negro, who gave five hundred dollars for 
him. His mother and four brothers were bought 
at the same time for tiic sum of two thousand 
five hundred dollars. He spoke very kindly of 
his former master. By industry, honesty, and 
close attention to business, Mr. B. has now be- 
come a wealthy merchant. He owns three stores 
in Bridgetown, lives in very genteel style in his 
own house, and is worth from twenty to thirty 
thousand dollars. He is highly respected by the 
merchants of Bridgetown for his integrity and 
business talents. By what means Mr. B. has ac- 
quired so much general information, we are at a 
loss to conjecture. Although we did not ourselves 
need the evidence of his possessing extraordinaiy 
talents, industry, a)id perseverance, yet we are 
happy to present our readers with such tangible 
proofs — proofs which are read in every language, 
and which pass current in every nation. 

The foregoing sketches arc sufficient to give a 
general idea of the colored people of Barbadoes. 
Perchance we may have taken too great liberties 
with those whose hospitalities we enjoyed ; should 
this ever fall under their notice, we doubt not they 
will fully appreciate the motives which have e^- 
tuated us in making them public. We are only 
sorry, for their sakes, and especially for that of our 
cause, that the delineations are so imperfect. That 
the above specimens are an exact likeness of the 
mass of colored people we do not pretend; but 
we do afhrm, that they are as true an index to the 
whole community, as the merchants, physicians, 
and mechanics of any of our villages are to the 
entire population. We must say, also, that fami- 
lies of equal merit arc by no means rare among 
the same people. We might mention many names 
which deservedly rank as high as those we have 
specified. One of the wealthiest merchants in 
Bridgetown is a colored gentleman. He has his 
mercantile agents in England, English clerks in 
his employ, a branch establishment in the city, 
and superintends the concerns of an extensive and 
complicated business with distinguished ability 
and success. A large portion, if not a majority 
of the merchants of Bridgetown are colored. Some 
of the most popular instructors are colored men 



76 



BARBADOES. 



of the ancient and modern languages. The most 
efficient and enterprising mechanics of the city, 
are colored and black men. There is scarcely 
any line of business which is not either shared or 
engrossed by colored persons, if we except that of 
barber. Tke only barber in Bridgetown is a lohite 
man. 

That so many of the colored people should 
have obtained wealth and education is matter of 
astonishment, when we consider the numerous 
discouragements with which they have ever been 
doomed to struggle. The paths of political distinc- 
tion have been barred against them by an arbitra- 
ry denial of the right oi'suftVage, and consequent 
ineligibility to office. Thus a large and powerful 
class of incitements to mental effort, which have 
been operating continually upon the whites, have 
never once stirred the sensibilities nor waked the 
ambition of the colored community. Parents, how- 
ever wealthy, had no inducement to educate their 
sons for the learned professions, since no force of 
talent nor extent of acquirement could hope to break 
down the granite walls and iron bars which pre- 
judice had erected round the pulpit, the bar, and 
the bench. From the same cause there was very 
little encouragement to acquire property, to seek 
education, to labor for the graces of cultivated 
manners, or even to aspire to ordinary respecta- 
bility, since not even the poor favor of social in- 
tercourse with the whites, of participating in the 
civilities and courtesies of every day life, was 
granted them. 

The crushing power of a prevailing licentious- 
ness, has also been added to the other discourage- 
ments of the colored people. Why should pa- 
rents labor to amass wealth enough, and much of 
course it required, to send their daughters to Eu- 
rope to receive their educations, if they were to 
return only to become the victims of an all- 
whelming concubinism ! It is a fact, that in 
many cases young ladies, who have been sent to 
England to receive education, have, after accom- 
plishing themselves in all the graces of woman- 
hood, returned to the island to become the concu- 
bines of white men. Hitherto this vice has swept 
-)ver the colored community, gathering its repeated 
conscriptions of beauty and innocence from the 
highest as well as the lowest families. Colored 
ladies have been taught to believe that it was 
more honorable, and quite as virtuous, to be the 
kept mistresses of white gentlemen, than the law- 
f(jlly wedded wives of colored men. We repeat 
the remark, that the actual progress which the 
colored people of Barbadoes have made, while 
laboring under so many depressing influences, 
should excite our astonishment, and, we add, our 
admiration too. Our acquaintance with this peo- 
ple was at a very interesting period — just when 
they were beginning to be relieved from these dis- 
couragements, and to feel the regenerating spirit 
of a new era. It was to lis like walking through 
a garden in the early spring. We could see the 
young buds of hope, the first bursts of ambition, 
the early up-shoots of confident aspiration, and 
occasionally the opening bloom of assurance. 
The star of hope had risen upon the colored peo- 
]3le, and they were beginning to realize that their 
day had come. The long winter of their woes 
was melting into " glorious summer." Civil im- 
munities and political privileges were just before 
them, the learned professions were opening to 
them, social equality and honorable domestic con- 
nections would soon be theirs. Parents were mak- 
ing fresh efforts to establish schools for their chil- 



dren, and to send the choicest of their sons and 
daughters to England. They rejoiced in the priv- 
ileges they were securing, and they anticipated 
with virtuous pride the free access of their chil- 
dren to all the fields of enterprise, all the paths ot 
honest emulation, and all the eminences of distinc- 
tion. 

We remark in conclusion, that the forbearance 
of the colored people of Barbadoes under their 
complicated wrongs, is worthy of all admiration. 
Allied, as many of them are, to the first families 
of the island, and gifted as they are with every 
susceptibility to feel disgrace, it is a marvel that 
they have not indignantly cast off the yoke and 
demanded their political rights. Their wrongs 
have been unprovo^ked on their part, and unnatu- 
ral on the part of those who have inflicted them- 
in many cases the guilty authors of their being. 
The patience and endurance of the sufferers un- 
der such circumstances are unexampled, except by 
the conduct of the slaves, who, though still more 
wronged, were, if possible, still more patient. 

We regret to add, that until lately, the colored 
people of Barbadoes have been far in the back 
ground in the cause of abolition, and even now, 
the majority of them are either indifferent, or actu- 
ally hostile to emancipation. They have no fel- 
low feeling with the slave. In fact, they have 
had prejudices against the negroes no less bitter 
than those which the whites have exercised toward 
them. There are many honorable exceptions to 
this, as has already been shown ; but such, we 
are assured, is the general fact.* 



CHAPTER IV. 

BARBADOES AS IT WAS, AND IS. 

According to the declaration of one of the spe- 
cial magistrates, " Barbadoes has long been dis- 
tinguished for its devotion to slavery." There is 
probably no portion of the globe where slave- 
holding, slave driving, and slave laboi", have 
been reduced to a more perfect system. 

The records of slavery in Barbadoes are stained 
with bloody atrocities. The planters uniformly 
spoke of slavery as a system of cruelties : but 
they expressed themselves in general terms. From 
colored gentlemen we learned some particulars, a 
few of which we give. To most of the following 
facts the narrators were themselves eye witnesses, 
and all of them happened in their day and were 
fresh in their memories. 

The slaves were not unfrequently worked in 
the streets of Bridgetown with chains on their 
wrists and ankles. Flogging on the estates and 
in the town, were no less public than frequent, 
and there was an utter shamelessness often in 
the manner of its infliction. Even women were 
stripped naked on the sides of the streets, and 
their Ijacks lacerated with the whip. It was a 
common practice, when a slave offended a white 

' We are here reminded, by the force of contrast, of 
the noble spirit manifested by the free colored people 
of our ovvn country. As early as 1817, a numerous 
body of them in Philadelphia, with the venerable 
.lames Forten at their head, pledged themselves to the 
cause of the slave in the following sublime sentiment, 
which deserves to be engraven to their glory on the gran- 
ite of out " everlasting hills"— "Resolved, That we nevei 
will separate ourselves vohmfaiily from the slave popu 
lation it) this country ; they are our brethren by the ties 
of consanguinity, of suffering, and of wrong ; and we feel 
that there is more virtue in suffering privations with them, 
than enjoying ./a/ic'ierf advantages for a season." 

We liel'ieve that this resolution embodies the feelings 
and determinations of the free colored people generally 
in the free states. 



BARBADOES. 



77 



man, for the -master to send for a public, whipper, 
and order him to take the slave before the door of 
the person offend d, and flog him till the latter 
•was satisfied. White females would order their 
male slaves to be stripped naked in their presence 
and flogged, while they would look on to see that 
their orders were faithfully executed. Mr. Pres- 
cod mentioned an instance which he himself wit- 
nessed near Bridgetown. He had seen an aged fe- 
male slave, stripped and whipped by her ow'n son 
- child of twelve, at the command of the mistress! 
s the boy was small, the mother was obliged to 
;et down upon her hands and knees, so that the 
^ihild could inflict the blows on her naked person 
with a rod. This was done on the public high- 
way, before the mistress's door. Mr. T. well re- 
membered when it was lawful for any man to 
shoot down his slave, under no greater penalty 
than twenty-five pounds currency'; and he knew 
of cases in which this had been done. Just after 
the msurrection in 1816, white men made a regu- 
lar sport of shootmg negroes. Mr. T. mentioned 
one case. A young man had sworn that he would 
kill ten negroes before a certain time. When he 
had shot nine he went to take breakfast with a 
neighbor, and carried his gun along. The first 
slave he met on the estate, he accused of being 
concerned in the rebellion. The negro protested 
that he was innocent, and begged for mercy. 
The man told him to be gone, and as he turned 
to go away, he shot him dead. Having fulfilled 
his bloody pledge, tho young knight ate his break- 
fast with a relish. Mr. H. said that a planter 
once, in a time of perfect peace, went to his door 
and called one of his slaves. The negro made 
some reply which the master construed into inso- 
lence, and in a great rage he swore if he did not 
5ome to him immediately he would shoot him. 
The man replied he hoped massa wan't in earnest 
' I'll show you whether I am in earnest,' said the 
master, and with that he levelled his rifle, took 
deliberate aim, and shot the negro on the 'spot. 
He died immediately. Though great efforts were 
■nade by a few colored men to bring the murderer to 
punishment, they were all ineffectual. The evi- 
dence against him was clear enough, but the influ- 
ence in his favor was so strong that he finally 
escaped. 

Dungeons were built on all the estates and 
hey were often abominably filthy, and infested 
tvith loathsome and venomous vermin. Forslio-ht 
)ffences the slaves were thrust into these prisons 
or several successive nights— being dragged out 
!very morning to work during the day. "Various 
nodes of torture were employed upon those who 
vere consigned to the dungeon. There were 
stocks for their feet, and there were staples in the 
loor for the ankles and wrists, placed in such a 
losition as to keep the victim stretched out 
md lying on his face. Mr. H. described one 
node which was called the cabin. A narrow 
)oard only wide enough for a man to lie upon, 
vas fixed in an inclined position, and elevated 
onsiderably above the ground. The offendin<^ 
lave was made to lay upon this board, and a 
itrong rope or chain, was tied about his neck and 
astened to the ceiling. It was so arranged, that 
J he should fall from the plank, he would inevit- 
ably hang by his neck. Lying in this position all 
iiffht he was more likely than not to fall asleep 
ind then there were ninety-nine chances to one 
hat he would roll off his narrow bed and be kill- 
ed before he could awake, or have time to extri- 
cate himself. Peradventure this is the explanar 



of , used to feel, 



tion of the anxiety Mr. 

when he had confined one of his slaves in the 
dungeon. He stated that he would frequently 
wake up in the night, was restless, and could'nt 



sleep, from fear that the prisoner would kill him- 
self before morning. 

It was common for the planters of Barbadoes, 
like those of Antigua, to declare that the greatest 
blessing of abolition to them, was that it relieved 
them from the disagreeable work of flogging the 
negroes. We had the unsolicited testimony of a 
planter, that slave mothers frequently poisoned, 
and otherwise murdered, their young infants, to 
rid them of a life of slavery. What a horrible 
comment this upon the cruelties of slavery ! 
Scarce has the mother given birth to her child, 
when she becomes its murderer. The slave-moth- 
er's joy begins, not like that of other mothers, 
when " a man is born into the world," but when 
her infant is hurried out of existence, and its first 
famt cry is hushed in the silence of death! Why 
this perversion of nature 1 Ah, that mother knows 
the agonies, the torments, the wasting woes, of a 
life of slavery, and by the bowels of a mother's 
love, and the yearnings of a mother's pity, she 
resolves that her babe shall never know the same. 
O, estimate who can, how many groans have 
gone up from the cane field, from the boiling- 
house, from around the wind mill, from the bye 
paths, from the shade of every tree, from the re- 
cesses of every dungeon ! 

Colonel Barrow, of Edgecome estate, declared, 
that the habit of flogging was so strong among the 
overseers and book-keepers, that even now they 
frequently indulge it in the face of penalties 
and at tlie risk of forfeiting their place. 

The descriptions which the special magistrates 
give of the lower class of overseers and the man- 
agers of the petty estates, furnish data enough for 
judging of the manner in which they would be 
hkely to act when ck)thed with arbitrary power. 
They are " a low order of men," " without educa- 
tion, ' "trained up to use the whip," "knowing 
nothing else save the art of flogging," "ready at 
any time to perjure themselves in any matter where 
a negro is concerned," &c. Now, may we not ask 
what but cruelty, the most monstrous, could be 
expected under a system where such meii were con- 
stituted law makers, judges, and executioners 1 

From the foregoing facts, and the still stronger 
circumstantial evidence, we leave the reader to 
judge for himself as to the amount of cruelty at- 
tendant upon "the reign of terror," in Barba- 
does. We must, however, mention one qualifi- 
cation, without which a wrong impression may 
be made. It has already been remarked that 
Barbadoes has, more than any other island, re- 
duced slave labor and sugar cultivation to a reg- 
ular system. This the planters have been com- 
pelled to do from the denseness of their popula- 
tion, the smallness of their territory, the fact that 
the land was all occupied, and still more, because 
the island, from long continued cultivation, was 
partly worn jout. A prominent feature in their 
system was, theoretically at least, good bodily 
treatment of the slaves, good feeding, attention to 
mothers, to pregnant women, and to children, in 
order that the estates might always be kept well 
stocked with good-conditioned iiegroes. They 
were considered the best managers, wlio increased 
the population of the estates most rapidly, and 
often premiums were given by the attorneys to 
such managers. Another feature in the Barba- 
does system was to raise sufficient provisions in 



78 



BARBADOES. 



the island to maintain the slaves, or, in planter's 
phrase, io feed the stock, without being dependent 
upon foreign countries. This made the supplies 
of the slaves more certain and more abundant. 
From several circumstances in the condition of 
Barbadoes, it is manifest, that there were fewer 
motives to cruelty there than existed in other 
islands. First, the slave population was abundant, 
then the whole of the island was under culti- 
vation, and again the lands were old and becoming 
exhausted. Now, if either one of these things had 
not been true, if the number of slaves had been in- 
adequate to the cultivation, or if vast tracts of 
land, as in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Demerara, 
had been uncultivated, or were being brought into 
cultivation ; or, again, if the lands under cultiva- 
tion had been fresh and fertile, so as to bear push- 
ing, then it is plain that there would have been 
inducements to hard driving, which, as the case 
was, did not exist. 

Such is a partial view of Barbadoes as it was, 
touching: the matter of cruelty. We say partial, 
for we have omitted to mention the selling of 
slaves from one estate to another, whereby fami- 
lies were separated, almost as effectually as though 
an ocean intei-vened. We have omitted to notice 
the transportation of slaves to Trinidad, Berbice, 
and Demerara, which was made an open traffic 
until prohibited in 1827, and was afterwards 
continued with but little abatement by evasions 
of the law. 

From the painful contemplation of all this out- 
rage and wrong, the mind is relieved by turning 
to the present state of the colony. It cannot be 
denied that much oppression grows out of the 
apprenticeship system, both from its essential na- 
ture, and from the want of virtuous principle and 
independence in the men who administer it. Yet 
it is certainly true that there has been a very 
gi-eat diminution in the amount of actual cruelty. 
The total abolition of flogging on the estates, the 
prohibition to use the dungeons, and depriving 
the masters, managers, overseers and drivers, of 
the right to punish in any case, or in any way 
whatever, leave no room for doubt on this sub- 

J'ect. It is true, that the laws are often violated, 
»ut this can only take place in cases of excessive 
passion, and it is not likely to be a very frequent 
occurrence. The penalty of the law is so heavy,* 
and the chances of detectiont are so great, that in 
all ordinary circumstances they will be a suffi- 
cient security against the violence of the master. 
On the other hand, the special magistrates them- 
selves seldom use the whip, but resort to other 
modes of punishment less cruel and degrading. 
Besides, it is manifest that if they did use the 
whip and were ever so cruelly disposed, it would 
be physically impossible for them to inflict as 
much suffering as the drivers could during slave- 
ry, on account of the vast numbers over whom 
they preside. We learned from the apprentices 
themselves, by conversing with them, that their 
condition, in respect to treatment, is incomparably 
better than it was during slavery. We were 
satisfied from our observations and inquiries, that 
the planters, at least the more extensive and en- 
lightened ones, conduct their estates on different 
principles from those formerly followed. Before 
the abolition of slavery, they regarded the whip as 

* A fine of sixteen dollars for the first assault, and the 
nberation of the apprentice after a second. 

! Through the complaint of the apprentice to the spe- 
cial inasistratP. 



absolutely necessary to the cultivation of sugar, 
and hence they uniformly used it, and loudly dep- 
recated its abolition as being thetr certain ruin. ^ 
But since the whip has been abolished, and the 
planters have found that the negroes continue, 
nevertheless, industrious and suboi-dinate, they 
have changed their measures, partly from neces- 
sity, and partly from policy, have adopted a con- 
ciliatory course. 

Barl.iadoes was not without its insurrections 
during slavery. Although not very frequent, 
they left upon the minds of the white colonists this 
conviction, (repeatedly expressed to us by plant- 
ers and others,) that slavery and rebellions are inn 
separable. The last widely extended insurrection 
occurred in 1816, in the eastern part of the island. 
Some of the particulars were given us by a planter i 
who resided in that region, and suffered by iti 
great loss of property. The plot was so cautious-, 
ly laid, and kept so secret, that no one suspect- 
ed it. The planter observed that if any one had I 
told him that such a thing was brewing te7i min- 
utes before it burst i)r5h, he would not have cred- 
ited the statement. It began with firing the cane- 
fields. A signal was given by a man setting fire' 
to a pile of trash on an elevated spot, when in- 
stantly the fires broke out in every direction, and 
in less than a half hour, more than one hundred 
estates were in flames. The planters and their 
families, in the vitmost alarm, either fled into 
other parts of the island, or seized their arms and 
hurriedly mustered in self-defence. Meanwhile the 
negroes, who had banded themselves in numeroas 
companies, took advantage of the general conster- 
nation, proceeded to the deserted mansions of the 
planters, broke down the doors, battered in the 
windows, destroyed all the furniture, and carried 
away the provision stores to their own houses. 

These ravages continued for three days, during 
which, the slaves flocked together in increasing 
numbers; in one place there were several thou- 
sands assembled. Above five hundred of the in- 
surgents were shot down by the militia, before 
they could be arrested. The destruction of prop- 
erty during the rebellion was loosely estimated 
at many hundred thousand pounds. The canes 
on many estates were almost wholly burned ; so 
that extensive properties, which ordinarily yielded^ 
from two to three hundred hogsheads, did not' 
make more than fifteen or twenty. 

Our informant mentioned two circumstances' 
which he considered rematkable. One was, that 
the insurgents never touched the property of the 
estates to which they severally belonged; bu \ 
went to the neighboring or more distant estate» * 
The other was, that during the whole insurrection | 
the negroes did not make a single attempt to de- 
stroy life. On the other hand, the sacrifice of 
negroes during the rebellion, and subsequent to 
it, was appalling. It was a long time before the! 
white man's thirst for blood could be satiated. | 

No general insurrection occurred after this one.j 
However, as late as 1823, the proprietor of Mount} 
Wilton — the noblest estate in the island — was 
murdered by his slaves in a most horrid manner. 
A number of men entered his bed-chamber at 
night. He awoke ere they i-eached him, and 
grasped his sword, which always hung by his 
bed, but it was wrested from his hand, and he 
was mangled and killed. His death was caused 
by his cruelties, and especially by his extreme 
licentiousness. All the females on this estate were ' 
made successively the victims of his lust. This, • 
together with his cruelties, so mcensed the men, 



BARBADOES, 



that they determined to murder the wretch. Sev- 
eral of them were publicly executed. 

Next to the actual occurrence of rebellions, thiC. 
fear of them, deserves to be enumerated among 
the evils which slavery entailed upon Barbadoes. 
The dread of hurricanes to the people of Barba- 
does is tolerable in comparison with the irrepress- 
ible apprehensions of bloody rebellions. A [jlanter 
:old us that he seldom went to bed without think- 
ing he might be murdered before morning. 

But now the whites are satisfied that slavery 
w&s the sole instigator of rebellions, and since its 
-emoval they have no fear on this score. 

LicetUious7iess was another of the fruits of 
slavery. It will be difficult to give to the reader 
I proper conception of the prevalence of this vice 
n Barbadoes, and of the consequent demoraliza- 
ion. A numerous colored population were both 
he offspring and the victims of it. On a very 
Hoderate calculation, nineteen-tvventieths of the 
n-esent adult colored race are illegitimate. Con- 
;ubinage was practised among the highest classes, 
ifoung merchants and others who were unmar- 
ied, on first going to the island, regularlj' engaged 
olored females to live with them as housekeepers 
md mistresses, and it was not unusual for a man 
have more than one. The children of Uiese 
onnections usually sat with the mothers at the 
ather's table, though wheo the gentlemen had 
ompany, neither mothers nor children made their 
ppearance. To such conduct no disgrace was 
ttached, nor was any shame felt by either party. 
iVe were assured that there are in Bridgetown, 
olored ladies of " respectability," who, though 
:ever married, have large families of children 
rhose different surnames indicate their difference 
f parentage, but who probably do not know their 
ithers by any other token. These remarks apply 
) the towns. The morals of the estates were still 
lore deplorable. The managers and overseers, 
jmmonly unmarried, left no female virtue unat- 
smpted. Rewards sometimes, but oftener the 
rhip, or the dungeon, gave them the mastery in 
oint of fact, which the laws allowed in theory. 
'o the slaves marriage was scarcely known, 
'hey followed the example of the master, and 
^ere ready to minister to his lust. The mass of 
lulatto population grew paler as it multiplied, 
lid catching the refinement along with the tint 
f civilization, waged a war upon marriage which 
ad well nigh expelled it from the island. Such 
'as Barbadoes under the auspices of slavery. 
Although these evils still exist, yet, since the 
3olition of slavery, there is one symptom of re- 
using purity, the sejtse of shame. Concubinage is 
Jcoming disreputable. The colored females are 
rowing in self-respect, and are beginning to seek 
;gular connections with colored men. They be- 
in to feel (to use the language of one of them) 
lat the light is come, and that they can no longer 
ave the apology of ignorance to plead for their 
n. It is the prevailing impression among whites, 
Dlored, and blacks, that open licentiousness can- 
9t long survive slavery. 

Prejudice was another of the concomitants of 
avery. Barbadoes was proverbial for it. As 
r as was practicable, the colored people were 
eluded from all business connections; though 
erchants were compelled to make clerks of them 
r want of better, that is, whiter, ones. Colored 
erchants of wealth were shut out of the mer- 
fiants' exchange, though possessed of untarnished 
itegrity, while white men were admitted as sub- 
rioers without regard to character. It was ;^^'t 

I 



a little remarkable that the rooms occupied as the 
merchants' exchange were rented from a colored 
gentleman, or more properly, a negro;* who, 
though himself a merchant of extensive business 
at home and abroad, and occupying the floor be- 
low with a store, was not suffered to set his foot 
within them. This merchant, it will be remem- 
bered, is educating a son for a learned profession 
at the university of Edinburgh. Colored gentlo 
men were not allowed to become members of lite- 
rary associations, nor subscribers to the town 
libraries. Social intercourse was utterly inter- 
dicted. To visit the houses of such men as we 
have already mentioned in a previous chapter, 
and especially to sit down at their tables, would 
have been a loss of caste; although the gentry 
were at the same time living with colored concu- 
bines. But most of all did this wicked prejudice 
delight to display itself in the churches. Origin- 
ally, we believe, the despised color was confined 
to the galleries, afterwards it was admitted to the 
seats under the galleries, and ultimately it was 
allowed to extend to the body pews below the 
cross aisle. If perchance one of the proscribed 
class should ignorantly stray beyond these pre- 
cincts, and take a seat above the cross aisle, he 
was instantly, if not forcibly, removed. Every 
opportunity was maliciously seized to taunt the 
colored people with their complexion. A gentle- 
man of the highest worth stated that several years 
ago he applied to the proper officer for a license to 
be married. The license was accordingly made 
out and handed to him. It was expressed in the 

following insulting style: " T H , F. M., 

is licensed to marry H L , F. C.W." The 

initials F. M. stood for /rcc mulatto, and F. C.W. 
for free colored woman! The gentleman took 
his knife and cut out the initials ; and was then 
threatened with a prosecution for forging his li- 
cense! 

It must be admitted that this cruel feeling still 
exists in Barbadoes. Prejudice is the last viper 
of the slavery-gendered brood that dies. But it is 
evidently growing weaker. This the reader will 
infer from several facts already stated. The col- 
ored people themselves are indulging sanguine 
hopes that prejudice will shortly die away. They 
could discover a bending on the part of the whites, 
and an apparent readiness to concede much oi the 
ground hitherto withheld. They informed us that 
they had received intimations that they might be 
admitted as subscribers to the merchants' exchange 
if they would apply; but they were in no hurry 
to make the advances themselves. They felt as- 
sured that not only business equality, but social 
equality, would soon be theirs, and were waiting 
patiently for the course of events to bring them. 
They have too much self-respect to sue for the 
consideration of their white neighbors, or to ac- 
cept it as a condescen-sion and favor, when by a 
little patience they might obtain it on more honor- 
able terms. It will doubtless be found in Barba- 
does, as it has been in other countries — and per- 
chance to the mortification of some lordlings — that 
freedom is a mighty leveller of human distinc- 
tions. The pyramid of pride and prejudice which 
slavery had upreared there, must soon crumble in 
the dust. 

Indolence and inefficiency among the lohites, was 
another prominent feature in slaveholding Barba- 
does. Enterprise, public and personal, has long 
been a stranger to tiie island. Internal improve- 

Mr. London Bourne, the merchant mentioned in the 
previous chapter. 



8C 



BARBADOES. 



mepts, such as the laying and repairing of roads, 
the erection of bridges, building wharves, piers, 
&c., were either wholly neglected, or conducted in 
such a listless manner as to be a burlesque on the 
name of business. It was a standing task, re- 
quiring the combined energy of the island, to re- 
pair the damages of one hurricane before another 
came. The following circumstance was told us, 
by one of the shrewdest observers of men and 
things with whom we met in Barbadoes. On the 
southeastern coast of the island there is alow point 
running far out into the sea, endangering all ves- 
sris navigated by persons not well acquainted 
with the island. Many vessels have been wrecked 
upon it in the attempt, to make Bridgetown from 
the windward. From time immemorial, it has 
been in contemplation to erect a light-house on 
that point. Every time a vessel has been wrecked, 
the whole island has been ago^ for a light-house. 
Public meetings were called, and eloquent speeches 
made, and resolutions passed, to proceed to the 
work forthwith. Bills were introduced into the 
assembly, long speeches made, and appropriations 
voted commensurate with the stupendous under- 
taking. There the matter ended, and the excite- 
ment died away, only to be revived by another 
wreck, when a similar scene would ensue. The 
liglit-house is not built to this day. In personal 
activity, the Barbadians are as sadly deficient as 
in public spirit. London is said to have scores 
of wealthy merchants who have never been be- 
yond its limits, nor once snuffed the country air. 
Bridgetown, we should think, is in this respect 
as deserving of the name Little London, as Bar- 
badoes is of the title " Little England," which it 
proudly assumes. We were credibly informed 
that there were merchants in Bridgetown who 
had never been off the island in their lives, nor 
more than five or six miles into the country. Tiie 
sum total of their locomotion might be said to be, 
turning softly to one side of their chairs, and then 
softly to the other. Having no personal cares to 
harass them, and no political questions to agitate 
them — having no extended speculations to push, 
and no public enterprises to prosecute, (save oc- 
casionally when a wreck on the southern point 
throws them into a ferment,) the lives of the higher 
classes seem a perfect blank, as it regards every 
thin? manly. Their thoughts are chiefly occu- 
pied with sensual pleasure, anticipated or enjoyed. 
The centre of existence to them is the dinner-table. 

" They eat and drink and sleep, and then — 
Eat and drink and sleep again." 

That the abolition of slavery has laid the 
foundation for a reform in this respect, there can 
be no doubt. The indolence and inefficiency of 
the white community has grown out of slavery. 
It is the legitimate offspring of oppression every- 
where — one of the burning curses which it never 
fails to visit upon its supporters. It may be seri- 
ously doubted, however, whether in Barbadoes 
this evil will terminate with its cause. There is 
there such a superabundance of the laboring pop- 
ulation, that for a long time to come, labor must 
be very cheap, and the habitually indolent will 
doubtless prefer employing others to work for 
them, than to work themselves. If, therefore, we 
should not see an active spirit of enterprise at 
once kindling among the Barbadians, if the light- 
Xouse should not be built for a quarter of a century 
to come, it need not excite our astonishment. 

We heard not a little concerning the expected 
distress of those white families whose property 



consisted chiefly of slaves. There were many' 
such families, who have hitherto lived respectably 
and independently by hiring out their slaves. 
After 1840, these will be deprived of all their 
property, and will have no means of support 
whatever. As they will consider it degrading to 
work, and still more so to beg, they will be thrown 
into extremely embarrassing circumstances. It is 
thought that many of this class will leave the 
country, and seek a home where they will not be 
ashamed to work for their subsistence. We were 
forcibly reminded of the oft alleged objection to 
emancipation in the United States, that it would 
impoverish many excellent families in the South, 
and drive delicate females to the distaff and the 
wash-tub, whose hands have never been used to 
any thing — rougher than the cowhide. Much 
sympathy has been awakened in the North by 
such appeals, and vast numbers have been led by 
them to conclude that it is better for millions of 
slaves to famish in eternal bo! dage, than that a 
few white families, here and there scattered over 
the South, should be reduced to the humiliation of 
working. 

Hostility to emancipation prevailed in Barba- 
does. That island has always been peculiarly 
attached to slavery. From the beginning of the 
anti-slavery agitations in England, the Barbadi- 
ans distinguished themselves by their inveterate 
opposition. As the grand result approximated 
they increased their resistance. They appealed, 
remonstrated, begged, threatened, deprecated, and 
imprecated. They continually protested that 
abolition would ruin the colony — that the negroes 
could never be brought to work — especially to 
raise sugar — without the whip. They both be- 
sought and demanded of the English that they 
should cease their interference with their private 
affairs and personal property. 

Again and again they informed them that they 
were wholly disqualified, by their distance from 
the colonies, and their ignorance of the subject, to 
do any thing respecting it, and they were entreat- 
ed to leave the whole matter with the colonies, 
who alone could judge as to the best time and 
manner of n<ovinp^, or whether it was proper 
to move at all. 

We were assured that there was not a single 
planter in Barbadoes who was known to be in 
favor of abolition, before it took place ; if, how- 
ever, there had been one such, he would not have 
dared to avow his sentiments. The anti-slavery 
party in England were detested ; no epithets were 
too vile for them — no curses too bitter. It was a 
Barbadian lady who once exclaimed in a public 
company in England, " O, I wish we had Wil- 
berforce in the West Indies, I would be one of 
the very first to tear his heart out !" If such a 
felon wish could escape the lips of a female, and 
that too amid the awing influence of English 
society, what may we conclude were the feelings 
of planters and drivers on the island ! 

The opposition was maintained even after the 
abolition of slavery ; and there was no colony, 
save Jamaica, with which the English government 
had so much trouble in arranging the provisions 
and conditions under which abolition was to take 
place. 

From statements already made, the reader will 
see how great a change has come over the feel- 
ings of the planters. 

He has followed us throngh this and the pre- 
ceding chapters, he has seen tranquillity taking the 
place of insurrections^ a sense of security suo 



•" &ir^ ' 



BARBADOES. 



81 



ceeding to gloomy forbodings, and public order 
supplanting mob law ; he has seen subordination 
to autbority, peacefulness, industry, and increas- 
iti"- morality, characterizing the negro population ; 
hfc'^has seen property rising in value, crime lessen- 
in o-, expenses of labor diminishing, the whole 
island blooming with unexampled cultivation, and 
waving with crops unprecedented in the memory 
of its inhabitants; above all, he has seen licen- 
tidusncss decreasing, prejudice fading away, mar- 
iinge extending, education spreading, and religion 
preparing to multiply her churches and mission- 
tiries over the land. 

' l^hese are the blessings of abolition — begun 
only, and but partially realized as yet, but 
promising a rich maturity in time to come, after 
the work of freedom shall have been completed. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM. 

The nature of the apprenticeship system may 
be learned from the following abstract of its pro- 
visions, relative to the three parties chiefly con- 
cerned in its operation — the special magistrate, the 
master, and the apprentice. 

PROVISIONS RESPECTING THE SPECIAL MAGISTRATES. 

1. They must be disconnected with planters 
and plantership, that they may be independent of 
all colonial parties and interests whatever. 

2. The special magistrates adjudicate only in 
cases where the master and apprentice are parties. 
Otferces committed by apprentices against any 
person not connected with the estates on which 
they live, come under the cognizance of the local 
magistrates or of higher courts. 

3. The special justices sit three days in the 
week at their offices, where all complaints are car- 
ried, both by the master and apprentice. The 
magistrates do not go to the estate, either to try or 
to punish offenders. Besides the three days the 
magistrates are required to be at home every 
Saturday, (that being the day on which the ap- 
prentices are disengaged,) to give friendly advice 
and instruction on points of law and personal 
rights to all apprentices who may call. 

PROVISIONS RESPECTING THE MASTER. 

1. The master is allowed the gratuitous labor 
of the apprentice for forty-five hours each week. 
The several islands were permitted by the English 

■ government to make such a division of this time 
as lo"-al circumstances might seem to require. In 
some islands, as for instance in St. Christopher's 
and Tortola, it is spread over six days of the 
week in proportions of seven and a half hours 
per day, thus leaving the apprentice mere shreds 
of time in which he can accomplish nothing for 
himself In Barbadoes, the forty-five hours is 
confined within five days, in portions of nine 
hours per day. 

2. The allowances of food continue the same 
as during slavery, excepting that now the master 
may give, instead of the allowance, a third of an 
acre to each apprentice, but then he must also 
grant an additional day every week for the culti- 
vation of this land. 

3. The master has no power whatever to 
punish. A planter observed, " if I command my 
butler to stand for half an hour on the narlor 
floor, and it can be proved that I designed it as a 
punishment, I may be fined for it." The penalty 



for the first offence (punishing an apprentice) is a 
fine of five pounds currency, or sixteen dollars, 
and imprisonment if the punishment was cruel. 
For a second offence the apprentice is set free. 

Masters frequently do punisli their apprentices 
in despite of all penalties. A case in point oc- 
curred not long since, in Bridgetown. A lady 
owned a handsome young mulatto woman, who 
had a beautiful head of hair of which she was 
very proud. The servant did fiomething dis- 
pleasing to her mistress, and the latter in a rage 
shaved off her hair close to her head. The girl 
complained to the special magistrate, and pro- 
cured an immediate release from her mistress's 
service. 

4. It is the duty of the master to make com- 
plaint to the special magistrate. When the 
master chooses to take the punishment iiHo hia 
own hand, the apprentice has a right to com- 
plain. 

5. The master is obliged to sell the remainder 
of the apprentice's term, whenever the apprentice 
signifies a wish to buy it. If the parties cannot 
agree about the price, the special magistrate, in 
connection with two local magistrates, appraises 
the latter, and the master is bound to take the 
amount of the appraisement, whatever that is. In- 
stances of apprentices purchasing themselves are 
quite frequent, notwithstanding the term of service 
is now so short, extending only to August, 1840. 
The value of an apprentice varies from thirty to 
one hundred dollars. 

PROVISIONS RESPECTING THE APPRENTICE. 

1. He has the whole of Saturday, and the rem- 
nants of the other five days, after giving nine 
hours to the master. 

2. The labor does not begin so early, nor con- 
tinue so late as during slavery. Instead of half 
past four or five o'clock, the apprentices are called 
out at six o'clock in the morning. They then 
work till seven, have an hour for breakfast, again 
work from eight to twelve, have a respite of two 
hours, and then work till six o'clock. 

3. If an apprentice hires his time from his 
master as is not unfrequently the case, especially 
among the non-praedials, he pays a dollar a week, 
which is two thirds, or at least one half of his 
earnings. 

4. If the apprentice has a complaint to make 
against his master, he must either make it during 
his own time, or if he prefers to go to the magis- 
trate during work hours, he must ask his master 
for a pass. If his master refuse to give him one, 
he can then go without it. 

5. There is an unjustifiable inequality in the 
apprentice laws, which was pointed out by one 
of the special magistrates. The master is pun- 
ishable only for cruelty or corporeal inflictions, 
whereas the apprentice is punishable for a variety 
of offences, such as idleness, stealing, insubordi- 
nation, insolence, &c. The master may be as 
insolent and abusive as he chooses to be, and the 
slave can have no redress. 

6. Hard labor, solitary confinement, and the 
treadmill, are the principal modes of punishment. 
Shaving the head is sometimes resoi'ted to. A 
very severe punishment frequently adopted, is 
requiring the apprentice to make up for the time 
during which he is confined. If he is committed 
for ten working days, he must give the master 
ten successive Saturdays. 

This last regulation is particularly oppressive 
and palpably unjust. It matters not how slight 



82 



BARBADOES. 



the offence may have been, it is discretionary 
with the special magistrate to mulct the apprentice 
of his Saturdays. This provision really would 
appear to have been made expressly for the pur- 
pose of depriving the apprentices of their own 
time. It is a d'lrect inducement to the master to 
complain. If the apprentice has been absent 
from his work but an hour, the magistrate may 
sentence him to give a whole day in return ; con- 
sequently the master is encouraged to mark the 
slightest omission, and to complain of it whether 
it was unavoidable or not. 

The design op the Apprenticeship. — It is a 
serious question with a portion of the colonists, 
whether or not the apprenticeship was originally 
designed as a preparation for freedom. This 
however was the professed object with its advo- 
cates, and it was on the strength of this plausible 
pretension, doubtless, that the measure was car- 
i-ied through. We believe it is pretty well under- 
stood, both in England and the colonies, that it 
was mainly intended as an additional compensa- 
tion to the planters. The latter complained that 
the twenty millions of pounds was but a pittance 
of the value of their slaves, and to di-own their 
cries about robbery and oppression this system 
of modified slavery was granted to them, that 
they might, for a term of years, enjoy the toil of 
the negro without compensation. As a mockery 
to the hopes of the slaves this system was called 
an apprenticeship, and it was held out to them as 
a needful preparatory stage for them to pass 
through, ere they could rightly appreciate the 
blessings of entire freedom. It was not wonderful 
that they should be slow to apprehend the neces- 
sity of serving a six years' apprenticeship, at a 
business which they had been all their lives em- 
ployed in. It is not too much to say that it was 
a grand cheat — a national imposture at the ex- 
pense of the poor victims of oppression, whom, 
with benevolent pretences, it offered up a sacrifice 
to cupidity and power. 

PRACTICit, OPERATION OP THE APPRENTICESHIP. 

—It cannot be denied that this system is in some 
respects far better than slavery. Many restraints 
are imposed upon the master, and many important 
privileges are secured to the apprentice. Being 
released from tlie arbitrary power of the master, 
is regarded by the latter as a vast stride towards 
entire liberty. We once asked an apprentice if 
he thought apprenticeship was better than slavery. 
" O yes," said he," great deal better, sir ; when we 
was slaves, oUr masters git mad wid us, and give 
us plenty of licks ; but now, thank God, they 
can't touch us." But the actual enjoyment of 
these advantages by the apprentices depends upon 
so many contingencies, such as the disposition 
of the master, and the faithfulness of the special 
magistrate, that it is left after all exceedingly 
precarious. A very few observations respecting 
the special magistrates, will serve to show how 
liable the apprentice is to suffer wrong without 
the possibility of obtaining redress. It is evident 
that this will be the case unless the special magis- 
trates are entirely independent. This was fore- 
seen by the English government, and they pre- 
tended to provide for it by paying the magistrates' 
salaries at home. But how inadequate was their 
provision! The salaries scarcely answer for 
pocket money in the West Indies. Thus situated, 
the magistrates are continually exposed to those 
temptations, which the planters can so artfully 
present in the shape of sumptuous dinners. 1'hey 
tioubtless find it ver^ Jonvenient,when their stiiUed 



purses run low, and mutton and wines run high, 
to do as the New England school master does 
" board round ;" and consequently the depend ' 
ence of the magistrate upon the planter is of all 
things the most deprecated by the apprentice.* 

Congeniality of feeling, habits, views, style 
and rank — identity of country and color — these 
powerful influences bias the magistrate toward 
the master, at the same time that the absence of 
them all, estrange and even repel him from the 
apprentice. There is still an additional consid- 
eration which operates against the unfortunate 
apprentice. The men selected for magistrates, 
are mostly officers of the army and navy. To 
those who are acquainted with the arbitrary hab- 
its of militai-y and naval officers, and with the 
iron despotism which they exercise among the 
soldiers and sailors,t the bare mention of this 
fact is sufficient to convince them of the unenvia- 
ble situation of the apprentice. It \u at best but 
a gloomy transfer from the mercies of a slave 
driver, to the justice of a military magistrate. 

It is not a little remarkable that the apprentice- 
ship should be regarded by the planters them- 
selves, as well as by other persons generally 
throughout the colony, as merely a modified form 
of slavery. It is common to hear it called ' slavery 

* The feelings of apprentices on thi^ point are vpell 
illustrated by the foUovvinfr anecdote, which was related 
to us while in the West Indies. Tlie governor of one ol 
the islands, shortly after his arrival, dined with one of the 
wealthiest proprietors. The next day one of the negroes 
of the estate said to another, "Do new gubner been pot- 
son'd." " Wliat dat you sayl" inquired the other in 
astonishment, "De gubner been poisoti'd." "Dah, now! 
— How him poisoned 1" " Hun eat tnassa turtle soup 
last night," said the shrewd negro. The other took his 
meaning at once ; and liis sympathy for the governor 
was turned into concern for himself, when he perceived 
that the poison was one from which he was likely to suffer 
more than his excellency. 

t We had a specimen of the stuff special magistrates are 
made of, in sailing from Barbadoes to Jamaica. The vessel 
was originally an Enghsh inan-of war brig, which had bei n 
converted into a steamer, and was employed by tlie Eng- 
lish government, in conveying the island mails from 
Barbadoes to Jamaica — to and fro. Site was still under 
the strict discipline of a man-of-war. The senior officer 
on board was a lieutenant. This man was one of the 
veriest savages on earth. His passions were in a perpet- 
ual storm, at some times higher than at others, occasion- 
ally they blew a hurricane. He quarrelled with his offi- 
cers, and his orders to his men were ahvays uttered in 
oaths. Scarcely a day passed that he did not have some 
one of his sailors flogged. One night, the cabin boy left 
the water-can sitting on the cabin floor, instead ofpiitting 
if on the sideboard, where it usually stood. For this 
offence the commander ordered him up on deck after 
midnight, and made the quarter-master flog him. The 
instrument used in this case, (tlie regular flogging stick 
having been used up by previous service,) was the com- 
mander's cane — a heavt/tcnotted club. The boy held out 
one hand and received tlie blow. He howled most pite- 
ously, and it was some seconds before he recovered 
sufficiently from the pain to extend the other. " Lay on," 
stormed the commander. Down went the cane a second 
time. We thought it must have broken every bono in the 
boy's hand. This was repeated several times, the boy ex- 
tei.ding each hand alternately, and recoiling at every blow. 
"Now lay on to his back," sternly vociferated the com- 
mander — " give it to \\\m.~hard—lay on harder." The 
old seaman,' who had some mercy in his heart, seemed 
very loth to lay out his strength on the boy with such a 
club. The commander became furious — cursed and 
swore — and again yelled, " Give it to him liarder, more — 
MORE— MORE— there, stop." "You infernal villain"— 
speaking to the quarter-master, and using the most horrid 
oaths— "You infernal villain, if you do not lay on harder 
the next time I command you, I'll have you put in irons." 
The boy limped away, writhing in every joint, and crying 
piteously, when the commander called at him, " Silence, 
there, you imp — or I'll give you a aecond edition." One 
of the first things the commander liid after we left Barba- 
does, was to have a man flogged, and th: last order we 
heard him give as we left the steamer at Kingston, was 
to put two of the men in irons 



BARBADOES. 



83 



.wder a different form,' ' another name for s avery 
moaified slavery,' ' but httle better than slavery^ 
Nor is the practical operation of the system 
upon the master much less expeplionable It 
takes out of his hand the power of coercing labor, 
and provides no other stimulus. Thus it subjects 
him to the necessity cither of resorting to empty 
threats, which must result only in incessant dis- 
nutes or of condescending to persuade and en- 
treiu against which his habits at once rebel, or 
of complaining to a third party-an alternative 
more revolting if possible, than the former, since 
it involveb 'he acknowledgment of a higher power 
than his own. It sets up over his actions a tor- 
ei-n iudge, at whose bar he is alike amenable (in 
theory) with his apprentice, before whose tribunal 
he may be dragged at any moment by his ap- 
prentice, and from whose lips he may receive the 
humiliating sentence of punishment in the pres- 
ence of his apprentice. It introduces between 
him and his laborers, mutual repellancies and 
estrangement; it encourages the former to exer- 
cise an authority which he would not venture to 
assume under a system of perfect freedom ; it 
emboldens the latter to display an insolence which 
he would not have dreamed of in a state oi sla- 
very and thus begetting in the one, the imperi- 
ousness of the slaveholder without his power, and 
in the other, the independence of the freeman 
tvithout his immunities, it perpetuates a scene ot 
an°-rv collision, jealousy and hatred. 

ft does not even serve for the master the un- 
worthy purpose for which it was mainly devised, 
■viz that of an additional compensation. The 
apprenticeship is estimated to be more expensive 
than a system of free labor would be. It is but 
little less expensive than slavery, and freedom it 
is confidently expected will be considerably less. 
So it would seem that this system burthens the 
master with much of the perplexity, the ignominy 
and the expensiveness of slavery, while it denies 
him its power. Such is the apprenticeship sys- 
tem A splendid imposition!— which cheats the 
slave of his freedom, cheats the planter of his gains, 
cheats the British nation of its money, and robs 
the world of what else might have been a glorious 
example of immediate and entire emancipation. 

The ai^prenticeship is no preparation for 
FREEDOM.— Indeed, as far as it can be, it is an 
actual disqualification. The testimony on tins 
subject is ample. We rarely met a planter, who 
was disposed to maintain that the apprenticeship 
was preparing the negroes for freedom. They 
o-enerallv admitted that the people were no better 
prepared for freedom now, than they were in 
1834 ; and some of them did not hesitate to say 
that the sole use to which they and their brother 
planters turned the system, was to get as muck 
icork out of the apprentices while it lasted, as pos- 
sible. Clergymen and missionaries, declared that 
the apprenticeship was no preparation for freedom. 
If it were a preparation at all, it would most prob- 
ably be so in a religious and educational point 
of view. We should expect to find the masters, 
! if laboring at all to prepare their apprentices for 
freedom, doing so chiefly by encouraging mis- 
sionaries and teachers to come to their estates and 
by aiding in the erection of chapels and school- 
houses. But the missionaries declare that they 
meet with little more direct encouragement now, 
than they did during slavery. 

The special magistrates also testify that the ap- 
prenticeship is no preparation for freedom. On 
'i\\i -1 1-^* ♦v.o'T nrp verv explicit. 



The colored people bear the same testimony. 
Not a few, too, afifrm, that the tendency of the 
apprenticeship is to unfit the negroes for treedom, 
and avow it as their firm persuasion, that the peo- 
ple will be less prepared for liberty at the end ot 
the apprenticeship, than they were at its com- 
mencement. And it IS not without reason hat 
Seytas speak. They say, first, that the bicker- 
nS and disputes to which the system gives rise 
Keen the master and the apprentice, and the ar- 
ra^^higof each other before the special mag.s- 
tiare are directly calculated to alienaie the parlies. 
The' effect of these contentions, kept up for six 
vears will be to implant deep mutual hostility ; 
S he parties will be a hundred fold more n- 
?rconcilable than they were on the abolition of 
slavery. Again, they argue that the apprentice- 
ship ystem's calculated to make the negroes re- 
gard law as their foe, and thus it unfits them for 
freedom. They reason thus-the apprentice looks 
to the magistrate as his judge his avenger, his 
protector;\e knows nothing of either aw or jus- 
tice except as he sees them exemplified in he de- 
cisions of the magistrate. When, therefo e t e 
magistrate sentences him to punishment when he 
ITno'ws he was the injured party, he will become 
disgusted with the very name of justice, and es- 
teem law his greatest enemy. 

The neo-lect of the planters to use the appien- 
ticeship as a preparation forfreedom, warrants us 
in the conclusion, that they do not think any 
preparation necessary. But we are not confined 
to doubtful inferences on this point. They testify 
positively-and not only planters, but all other 
classes of men likewise-that the slaves of Barb? 
does were fit for entire freedom in 1834, and tnat 
thev might have been emancipated then with per- 
fect safety Whatever may have been the sen'..- 
ment of the Barbadians relative to the necessity 
of preparation before the experimesit was made it 
is clear that now they have no confidence either 
in the necessity or the practicability of prepara- 
tory schemes. , 

But we cannot close our remarks upon the ap- 
prenticeship system without noticing one good 
end which it has undesignedly accomplished, i.e 
the illustration of the good disposition of the col- 
ored people. We firmly believe that if the friends 
of emancipation had wished to disprove all that 
has ever been said about the ferocity and revenge- 
fulness of the negroes, and at the same time to 
demonstrate that they possess in a pre-eminen 
degree, those other qualities which render them 
the fit subjects of liberty and law they could not 
have done it more triumphantly than it has been 
done by the apprenticeship. How this has been 
done may be shown by pointing out several r^- 
spects in which the apprenticeship has been cal 
culatedto try the negro character most severely, 
and to develop all that was fiery and rebellious 

1 The apprenticeship removed the strong arm 
of slavery, and substituted no adequate force. T he 
arbitrary power of the master, which awed the 
slave into submission, was annihilated. 1 he 
whip which was held over the slave, and conv 
pelled a kind of subordination— brutal, indeed, 
but effectual— was abolished. Here in the outset 
the reins were given to the long-oppressed, but 
now aspiring mass. No adequate force was su^ 
stituted, because it was the intent of the new sys- 
tem to trovein bv mild, v means. This was well, 
but what were the milder means which were t<» 
take the place of brute force 1 



84 



BARBADOES. 



2. Wfts the stimulus ofwages substituted 7 No! 
That was expressly denied. Was the liberty of 
locomotion granted 1 No. "Was the privilege of 
gammg a personal interest in the soil extended to 
them 1 No. Were the immunities and rights of 
citizenship secured to them 1 No. Was the poor 
favor allowed them of selecting their own busi- 
ness, or of choosing their employer 1 Not even 
this 1 Thus for, then, we see nothing of the 
milder measures of the apprenticeship. It has in- 
deed opened the prison doors and knocked off the 
prisoners' chains—but it still keeps them grinding 
there, as before, and refuses to let them come forth, 
except occasionally, and then only to be thrust 
back again. Is it not thus directly calculated to 
encourage indolence and insubordination'? 

3. In the next place, this system introduces a 
third party, to whom the apprentice is encouraged 
to look for justice, redress, and counsel. Thus he 
is led to regard his master as his enemy, and all 
confidence in hmi is for ever destroyed. But this 
is not the end of the difficulty. The apprentice 
carries up complaints against his master. If they 
gain a favorable iiearing he triumphs over him — 
if they are disregarded, he concludes that the 
magistrate also is his enemy, and he goes away 
with a rankling grudge against his master. Thus 
he is gradually led to assert his own cause, and 
he learns to contend with his master, to reply in- 
solently, to dispute, quarrel, and— it is well that 
we cannot add, to Jight. At least one thing is 
the result — a permanent state of alienation, con- 
tempt of authority, and hatred. All these arc the 
fruits of the a-p prentice ship system. They are 
caused by transferring the power of the master, 
while the relation continues the same. Nor is 
this contempt for the master, this alienation and 
hatred, all the mischief The unjust decisions of 
the magistrate, of which the apprentices have such 
abundant reasons to complain, excite their abhor- 
rence of him, and thus their confidence in the pro- 
tection of law is weakened or destroyed. Here, 
then, is contempt for the master, abhorrence of the 
riiagistrate, and mistrust of the law — the appren- 
tice regarding all three as leagued together to rob 
him of his rights. What a combination of cir- 
cumstances to drive the apprentices to desperation 
and madness ! What a marvel that the outraged 
negroes have been restrained from bloody re- 
bellions ! 

Another insurrectionary feature peculiar to the 
apprenticeship is its making the apprentices free 
a portion of the time. One fourth of the time is 
given them every week — just enough to afford 
them a taste of the sweets of liberty, and render 
them dissatisfied with their condition. Then the 
manner in which this time is divided is calculated 
to irritate. After being a slave nine hours, the 
apprentice is made a freeman for the remainder of 
the day ; early the next morning the halter is again 
put on, and he treads the wheel another day. 
Thus the week wears away until Saturday ; which 
is an entire day of freedom. The negro goes out 
and works for his master, or any one else, as he 
pleases, and at night he receives his quarter of a 
dollar. This is something like freedom, and he 
begins to have the feelings of a freeman — a lighter 



\w» 



heart and mofe active limbs. He puts his money, 
carefully away at night, and lays himself down 
to rest his toil-worn body. He awakes on Sab- 
bath morning, and is still frte. He puts on his 
best clothes, goes to church, worships a free God, 
contemplates a free heaven, sees his free children 
about hirn, and his wedded wife; and ere the 
night again returns, the consciousness that he is a 
slave IS quite lost in the thoughts of liberty which 
nil his breast, and the associations of freedom 
which cluster around him. He sleeps again. 
Monday morning he is startled from his dreams 
by the old " shell-blow" of slavery, and he arises 
to endure another week of toil, alternated by the 
same tantalizing mockeries of freedom. Is not 
this applying the hot iron to the nerve? 

5. But, lastly, the apprenticeship system, as if it 
would apply the match to this magazine of com- 
bustibles, holds out the reward of liberty to every 
apprentice who shall by any means provoke his 
master to punish him a second time. 



[NoTK. — In a former part of this work — the re- 
port of Antigua — we mentioned having received 
information respecting a number of the appren- 
ticeship islands, viz., Dominica, St. Christopher's, 
Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, and Tortola, from 
the Wesley an Missionaries whom we providen- 
tially met with at the annual district meeting in 
Antigua. We desig^ned to give the statements of 
these men at some length in this connection, but 
we find that it would swell our report to too great 
a size. It only remains to say, therefore, in a 
word, that the same things are generally true of 
those colonies which have been detailed in the ac- 
count of Barbndoes. There is the same peacea- 
bleness, subordination, industry, and patient suf- 
fering on the part of the apprentices, the same 
inefficiency of the apprenticeship as a preparation 
for freedom, and the same conviction in the com- 
munity that the people will, if at all affected by it, 
be less fit for emancipation in 1840 than they 
were in 1834. A short call at St. Christopher's 
confirmed these views in our minds, so far as that 
island is concerned. 

While in Barbadoes, we had repeated inter- 
views with gentlemen who were well acquainted 
with the adjacent islands, St. Lucia, St. Vincent's, 
Grenada, &c. ; one of whom was a proprietor of 
a sugar estate in St. Vincent's ; and they assured 
us that there was the same tranquillity reigning 
in those islands which we saw in Barbadoes. Sii 
Evan M'Gregor, who is the governor-general of 
the windward colonies, and of course thoroilghly 
informed respecting their internal state, gave us 
the same assurances. From Mr. H., an Ameri- 
can gentleman, a merchant of Barbadoes, and 
formerly of Trinidad, we gathered similar in- 
formation touching that large and (compared with 
Barbadoes or Antigua) semi-barbarous island. 

We learned enough from these authentic sources 
to satisfy ourselves that the various degrees of in- 
telligence in the several islands makes very littif 
difference in the actual results of abolition ; bu' 
that in all the colonies, conciliatory and equitable 
management has never failed to secure industw 
and tranquillity.] 



/ 



JAMAICA 



CHAPTER I 



KINGSTON. 



iljiViNG drawn out in detail the results of abo- 

iou, and the working of the apprenticeship sys- 
:m in Barbadoes, we shall spare the reader a 
irotracted account of Jamaica ; but the import- 
nce of that colony, and the fact that greater dis- 
satisfaction on account of the abolition of slavery 
has prevailed there than in all the other colonies 
together, demand a caretul statement of facts. 

On landing in Jamaica, we pushed onward in 
our appropriate inquiries, scarcely stopping to 
:ast a glance at the towering mountains, with 
;heir cloud-wreathed tops, and the valleys where 
sunshine and shade sleep side by side — at the 
frowning precipices, made moi-e awful by the im- 
oenetrable forest-foliage which shrouds the 
abysses below, leaving the impression of an 
Dcean depth — at the broad lawns and magnifi- 
cent savannahs glowing in vei-dure and sunlight 
— at the princely estates and palace mansions — at 
.lie luxuriant cultivation, and the sublime solitude 
jf primeval forests, where trees of every name, the 
mahogany, "the boxwood, the rosewood, the cedar, 
:lie palm, the fern, the bamboo, the cocoa, the 
Dread fruit, the mango, the almond, all grow in 
wild confusion, interwoven with a dense tangled 
mdergrowth.* 

We were one month in Jamaica. For about a 
week we remained in Kingston,+ and called on 
5ome of the principal gentlemen, both white and 
colored. We visited the Attorney-General, the 
Solicitor-General, some of the editors, the Baptist 
:ind Weslevan missionaries, and several mer- 
:'hants. We likewise visited the public schools, 
the house of correction, penitentiary, hospital, and 
other public institutions. We shall speak briefly 
of several individuals whom we saw in Kings- 
ton, and give some of their statements. 

The Hon. Dowel O'Reily, the Attorney-Gen- 
eral, is an Irishman, and of one of the influential 
families. In his own country he was a promi- 
nent politician, and a bold advocate of Catholic 
Emancipation. He is decidedly one of the ablest 
men in the island, distinguished for that simpli- 
city of manners, and flow of natural benevolence, 
which are the characteristics of the Irishman. He 
received his present appointment from the English 
gnvrrnment about six years ago, and is, by virtue 
of his office, a member of the council. He declar- 
ed that the apprenticeship was in no manner pre- 
paring the negroes for freedom, but was operating 
m a contrary way, especially in Jamaica, where 
it had been made the instrument of greater cruel- 

* It is less necessary for us to dwell long on Jannaica, 
than it wniilil otherwise be, since the English gentlemen, 
Messrs. Stin-ge and Harvey, spent most of their time in 
that island, and will, doubtless, publish their investiga- 
tions, which will, ere long, be accessible to our readers. 
We had the pleasure of meeting these intelligent, philan- 
thropic and pious men in the West Indies, and from the 
great length of time, and thip superior facilities which 
they enjoyed over us. of gathering a mass of tacts in Ja- 
maica, we feel assured that their report will be highly 
interesting and useful, as well among us as on the other 
side of the water. 

t The chief town of the island, with about forty thou- 
sand inhabitants. 



ties in some cases, than slavery itself Mr.O'Reily 
is entirely free from prejudice ; with all his family 
rank and official standing, he identifies himself 
with the colored people as far as his extensive 
professional engagements will allow. Having 
early learned this, "we were surprised to find him 
so highly respected by the whites. In our sub- 
sequent excursions to the country, the letters of 
introduction with which he kindly furnished us, 
to planters and others, were uriitbrmly received 
with avowals of the profoundest respect for him. 
It should be observed, that Mr. O'Reily's attach- 
ment to the cause of freedom in the colonies, is 
not a mere partizan feeling assumed in order to 
be in keeping with the government under which 
he holds his office. The fact of his being a Ro- 
man Catholic must, of itself, acquit him of the 
suspicion of any strong partiality for the English 
government. On the other hand, his decided hos- 
tility to the apprenticeship — the favorite offspring 
of British legislation— demonstrates equally his 
sincerity and independence. 

We were introduced to the Solicitor-General, 
William Henry Anderson, Esq., of Kingston. 
Mr. A. is a Scotchman, and has resided in Ja- 
maica for more than six years. We found him 
the fearless advocate of negro emancipation. He 
exposed the corruptions and abominations of the 
apprenticeship without reserve. Mr. A. furnished 
us with a written statement of his views, respect- 
ing the state of the island, the condition of the 
apprentices, &c., from which we here make a few 
extracts. 

" 1. A very material change for the better has 
taken place in the sentiments of the community 
since slavery was abolished. Religion and edu- 
cation were formerly opposed as subversive of the 
security of property ; now they are in the most 
direct manner encouraged as its best support. 
The value of all kinds of property has risen con- 
siderably, and a general sense of security appears 
to be rapidly pervading the public mind. I have 
not heard one man assert that it would be an ad- 
vantage to return to slavery, even were it practi- 
cable ; and I believe that the public is beginning 
to see that slave labor is not the cheapest. 

" 2. The prejudices against color are rapidly 
vanishing. I do not think there is a respectable 
man, I mean one who would be regarded as re- 
spectable on account of his good sense and weight 
of character, who would impugn another's conduct 
for associating with persons of color. So far as 
my observation goes, those who would formerly 
have acted on these prejudices, wiW be ashamed 
to own that they had entertained them. The dis- 
tinction of superior acquirements still belongs to 
the whites, as a body ; but that, and character, 
will shortly be the only distinguishing mark re- 
cognized among us. 

" 3. The apprentices are improving, not, how- 
ever, in consequence of the apprenticeship, bid in 
spite of it, and in consequence of the great act of 
ahnlilion! 

" 4. I think the negroes might have been eman- 
cipated as safely in 1834, as in 1840; and had 
the emancipation then taken place, they would be 
found much further in advance in 1840, than they 



w? 



TAMAICA. 



can be after the expiration of the present period 
of apprenticeship, through which all, both appren- 
tices and masters, a.re laboring heavily. 

" 5. That the negroes will work if moderately 
compensated, no candid man can doubt. Their 
endurance for the sake of a very little gain is quite 
amazing, and they are most desirous to procure 
for themselves and families as large a share as 
possible of the comforts and decencies of life. 
They appear peculiarly to reverence and desire 
intellectual attainments. They employ, occasion- 
ally, children who have been taught in the schools 
to teaeh them in t ■ ?ir leisure time to read. 

" 6. I think the partial modifications of slavery 
have been attended by so much improvement in 
all that constitutes the welfare and respectability 
of society, that I cannot doubt the increase of the 
benefit were a total abolition accomplished of 
every restriction that has arisen out of the former 
state of things." 

During our stay in Kingston, we called on the 
American consul, to whom we had a letter from 
the consul at Antigua. We found him an elderly 
gentleman, and a true hearted Virginian, both in 
his generosity and his prejudices in favor of 
slavery. The consul. Colonel Harrison, is a 
near relation of General W. H. Harrison, of 
Ohio. Things, he said, were going ruinously 
in Jamaica. The English government were mad 
for abolishing slavery. The negroes of Jamaica 
were the most degraded and ignorant of all ne- 
groes he had ever seen. He had travelled in all 
our Southern States, and the American negroes, 
even those of South Carolina and Georgia, were 
as much superior to the negroes of Jamaica, as 
Henry Clay was superior to him. He said they 
were the most ungrateful, faithless set he ever 
saw ; no confidence could be placed in them, and 
kindness was always requited by insult. He 
proceeded to relate a fact, from which it appeared 
that the ground on which his grave charges 
against the negro character rested, was the ill- 
conduct of one negro woman whom he had hired 
some time ago to assist his family. The town 
negroes, he said, were too lazy to work; they 
loitered and lounged about on the sidewalks all 
day, jabbering with one another, and keeping up 
an incessant noise ; and they would not suffer a 
v.-'iite man to order them in the least. They Were 
ir ...ng their children in perfect idleness, and for 
his part he could not tell what would become of 
the rising population of blacks. Their parents 
were too proud to let them work, and they sent 
them to school ail the time. Every afternoon, he 
said, the streets are thronged with the half-naked 
little black devils, just broke from the schools, and 
all singing some noisy tune learned in the infant 
schools ; the burthen of their songs seems to be, 
" O that ^vill be joyful." These words, said he, 
are ringing in your ears wherever you go. How 
aggravating truly such words must be, bursting 
cheerily from the lips of the little free songsters ! 
" O that will be joyful, joyful, joyful" — and so 
they ring the changes day after day, ceaseless 
and untiring. A new song this, well befitting 
the times and the prospects, but provoking enough 
to oppressors. The consul denounced the special 
magistrates ; they were an insolent set of fellows, 
they would fine a white man as quick as they 
would flog a nigger* If a master called his ap- 
prentice " you scoundrel," or, " you huzzy," the 
magistrate would either fine him for it, or reprove 
him sharply in the presence of the apprentice. 
• We fear there is too little truth in this representation. 



This, in the eyes of the veteran Virginian, was' 
intolerable. Outrageous, not to allow a gentle- 
man to call his servant what names he chooses ! 
We were very much edified by the Colonel's ex- 
pose of Jarnaica manners. We must say, however, 
that his opinions had much less weight with us af- 
ter we learned (as we did from the best authority) 
that he had never been a half dozen miles into the 
country during a ten year's residence in Kingston. 
We called on the Rev. Jonathan Edmonson, the 
superintendent of the Wesleyan missions in Ja- 
maica. Mr. E. has been for many years laboring 
as a missionary in the West Indies, first in Barba- 
does, then in St. Vincent's, Grenada, Trinidad, 
and Demerara, and lastly in Jamaica. He stated 
that the planters were doing comparatively noth- 
ing to prepare the negroes for freedom. " Their 
whole object was to get as much sugar out of them 
as they possibly could." / 

We received a call from the Rev. Mr. Woold- 
ridge, one of the Independent missionaries. He 
thinks the conduct of the planters is tending to 
make the apprentices their bitter enemies. He 
mentioned one effect of the apprenticeship which 
had not been pointed out to us before. The sys- 
tem of appraisement, he said, was a premium 
upon all the bad qualities of the negroes and a 
tax upon all the good ones. When a person is to 
be appraised, his virtues and his vices are always 
inquired into, and they materially influence the 
estimate of his value. For example, the usual 
rate of appraisement is a dollar per week for the 
remainder of the tenm ; but if the apprentice is 
particularly sober, honest, and industrious, more 
particularly if he be a pious man, he is valued at 
the rate of two or three dollars per week. It was 
consequently for the interest of the master, when^ 
an apprentice applied for an appraisement, to por- 
tray his virtues, while on the other hand there wa! 
an inducement for the apprentice to conceal or 
actually to renounce his good qualities, and foster 
the worst vices. Some instances of this kind had 
fallen under his personal observation. 

We called on the Rev. Mr. Gardiner, and on the 
Rev. Mr. Tinson, two Baptist missionaries in 
Kingston. On Sabbath we attended service ai 
the church of which Mr. G. is the pastor. It is a 
very large building, capable of seating two thou- 
sand persons. The great mass of the congrega 
tion were apprentices. At the time we were pres 
ent, the chapel was well filled, and the broad sur- 
face of black faces was scarcely at all diversified 
with lighter colors. It was gratifying to witness 
the neatness of dress, the sobriety of demeanor, 
the devotional aspect of countenance, the quiet 
and wakeful attention to the preacher which pre- 
vailed. They were mostly rural negroes from the 
estates adjacent to Kingston. 

The Baptists are the most numerous body of 
Christians in the island. The number of their mis- 
sionaries now in Jamaica is sixteen, the number 
of Chapels is thirty-one, and the number of mem- 
bers thirty-two thousand nine hundred and sixty. 
The increase of members during the year 1836 
was three thousand three hundred and forty-four. 
At present the missionary field is mostly en- 
grossed by the Baptists and Wesleyans. The 
Moravians are the next most numerous body. 
Besides these, there are the clergy of the English 
Church, whh a Bishop, and a few Scotch clergy- 
men. The Baptist missionaries, as a body, have 
been most distinguished for their opposition to 
slavery. Their boldness in the midst of suffering 
and persecutions, their denunciations of oppres- 



JAMAICA. 



87 



'i, though they did for a time arouse the wrath 
oppressors, and cause their chapels to be torn 
vn and themselves to be hunted, miprisoned, 
i banished, did more probably than any other 
[ise, to hasten the abolition of slavery. 

'schools in Kingston.— We visited the Wolmer 
s school— the largest and oldest school m the 
md. The whole number of scholars is five 
iidred It is under the charge of Mr. Reid, a 
lerable Scotchman, of scholarship and piety. 
1 colors are mingled in it promiscuously. We 
^v the infant school department exannned by 
r R There were nearly one hundred and fifty 
ildren, of every hue, from thejcttiest black to 
. fairest while ; they were thoroughly intermin- 
■d and the ready answers ran along the ranks 
,m' black to white, from white to brown, from 
3wn to pale, with undistinguished vivacity and 
curacy We were afterwards conducted into 
3 hio-her department, where lads and misses 
mi nine to fifteen, were instructed in the various 
anches of academic education. A class of lads, 
Dstlv colored, were examined in arithmetic, 
'hey wrought several sums in pounds, shillings 
A pence currency, with wonderful celerity. 
Amon^- other tilings which we witnessed in that 
hool ^e shall not soon forget having seen a 
rly headed negro lad of twelve, examining a 
iss of white young ladies in scientific history. 

Some written statements and statistical tables 
;re furnished us by Mr. Reid, which we subjoin 

Kingston, May 13U, 1837 

Dear Sir. — I delayed answering your queries 
hopes of being able to give you an accurate list 
the number ot schools in Kingston, and pupils 
ider tuition, but have not been able completely 
accomplish my intention. I shall now answer 
jur queries in the order you propose them. 1st 
.uest. How long have you been teaching in Ja- 
aical Ans. Thirty-eight years in Kingston. 
1 Ct. How long have you been master of Wol- 
er's free school'! A. Twenty-three years. 3d 
What is the number of colored children now 
I the school 1 A. Four hundred and thirty. 4th 
.. Was there any opposition to their admission 
. first 1 A. Considerable opposition the first year, 
.'.c none afterwards. 5th Q.. Do they learn as 
■adily as the white children"? A. As they are more 
■gular in their attendance, they learn better. 6th 
L? Are they as easily governed 1 A. Much easier. 
:h CL. What proportion of the school are the 
iiildren of apprentices 1 A. Fifty. 8th Q.. Do 
le.ir parents manifest a desire to have them edu- 
ated 1 A. In general they do. 9th Gl. At what 
ge do the children leave your school 1 A. Gener- 
ly between twelve and fourteen. 10th Q. What 
mploymentsdothey chiefly engage in upon leay- 
iig you "? A. The boys go to various mechani" 
rades, to counting-houses, attorney's offices, clerks 
planting attorneys, and others become planters, 
riie girls seamstresses, mantuamakers, and a 
considerable proportion tailoresses, in Kingston 
uid throughout Jamaica, as situations offer. 

I am, dear sirs, yours respectfully, 

E. Reid. 

The following table will show the average 
numbers of the respective classes, white and co- 
lored, who have attended Wolmer's free school in 
each year, from 1814 to the present time. 









White 


Colored i 


rotal. 






( 


Children. < 

87 
HI 


Children. 




Average 


number 

CI 


in 1814 
1815 


3 


87 
114 


CI 


•/ 


1816 


129 


25 


154 


cc 


II 


1817 


146 


36 


182 


(( 


II 


1818 


155 


38 


193 


<l 


II 


1819 


136 


57 


193 


CI 


II 


1820 


116 


78 


194 


II 


i: 


1821 


118 


122 


240 


II 


II 


1822 


93 


167 


260 


II 


II 


1823 


97 


187 


280 


II 


II 


1824 


94 


196 


290 


II 


II 


1825 


89 


185 


274 


II 


II 


1826 


93 


176 


269 


II 


II 


1827 


92 


156 


248 


II 


II 


182H 


88 


152 


240 


II 


II 


1829 


79 


192 


271 


CI 


II 


1830 


88 


194 


282 


:c 


II 


1831 


88 


315 


403 


II 


II 


1832 


90 


360 


450 


11 


II 


1833 


93 


411 


504 


II 


II 


1834 


81 


420 


501 


II 


II 


1835 


85 


425 


510 


11 


II 


1836 


78 


428 


506 


cc 


11 


1837 


72 


430 


502 



With regard to the comparative intellect of 
white and colored children, Mr. Reid gives the 
following valuable statement: 

•' For the last thirty-eight years I have been 
mployed in this city in the tuition of children of 
all classes and colors, and have no hesitation in 
saying that the children of color are equal both 
in conduct and ability to the white. They have 
always carried off more than their proportion ot 
prizes, and at one examination, out of seventy- 
prizes awarded, sixty-four were obtained by child- 
ren of color." 

Mr. R. afterwards sent to us the table of the 
number of schools in Kingston, alluded to in the 
foregoing communication. We insert it here, as 
it affords a view of the increase of schools and 
scholars since the abolition of slavery. 

1831. 
Schools. 
2 Wolmer's, - - - " 

1 National, - - - - 
34 Gentlemen's private, - - - 

40 Ladies' do. - - - 
8 Sunday, . . - - 

85 Total, 

1832. 

Schools. 

2 Wolmer's, . - - - 
1 National, . - - - 

31 Gentlemen's private, 

41 Ladies' do. - - - 
S Sunday, . . - - 



Scholars. 
403 
270 

- 1368 

- 1005 

- 1042 



83 



Total, 



1836. 



Schools. 

2 Wolmer's, 

3 National, 
3 Mico, 

1 Baptist, 

1 Jamaica Union, 
31 Gentlemen's private, 
59 Ladies' do. 



4088 

Scholars. 
472 
260 

- 1169 
856 
981 

3738 



Scholars. 
527 

- 1136 

590 
2.50 
120 

- 1137 

- 1339 



es 



JAMAICA. 



9 Sunday, . . - . 

By itinerant teachers and children. 



109 



Total, 



1108 
1500 

7707 



1837. 



Schools. 








Scholars. 


2 Wolmer's, 


. 


_ 


. 




502 


3 National, 


. 


• 


. 


. 


1238 


4 Mico, 


- 


- 


. 


- 


611 


1 Baptist, - 


- 


- 


- 


- 


260 


1 Jamaica Union, 


. 


. 


. 


200 


34 Gentlemen's 


private, 




_ 


■ 


1476 


63 Ladies' 


do. 


- 


. 


. 


1525 


10 Smiday, 


- 


. 


- 


. 


1316 


By itinerant teachers and children, 


- 


1G25 



118 



Total, 



8753 



We also visited the Union school, which has 
been established for some years in Kingston. All 
the children connected with it, about one hundred 
and fifty, are, with two exceptions, black or color- 
ed. The school is conducted generally on the 
Lancasterian plan. We examined several of the 
boys in arithmetic. We put a variety of ques- 
tions to them, to be worked out on the slate, and 
the reasons of the process to be explained as they 
went along; all which they executed with great 
expcrtness. There was a jet black boy, whom 
we selected for a special trial. We commenced 
with the simple rules, and went through them one 
by one, together with the compound rules and 
Reduction, to Practice, propounding questions 
and examples in each of them, which were entire- 
ly new to him, and to all of them he gave prompt 
and correct replies. He was only thirteen years 
old, and we can aver we never saw i boy of that 
age in any of our common schools, that exhibited 
a fuller and clearer knowledge of the science of 
numbers. 

In general, our opinion of this school was simi- 
lar to that already expressed concerning the others. 
It is supported by the pupils, aided by six hun- 
dred dollars granted by the assembly. 

In connection with this subject, there is one fact 
of much interest. However strong and exclusive 
was the prejudice of color a few years since in 
the schools of Jamaica, we could not, during our 
Rff y in that island, learn of more than two or 
i.i:. (' places of education, and those private ones, 
fro.'i^ which colored children were excluded, and 
among tne numerous schools in Kingston, there is 
Aot one of this kind. 

We called on several colored gentlemen of King- 
ston, from wliom wc received much valuable in- 
formation. The colored population are opposed 
to the apprenticeship, and all the influence which 
they have, both in the colony and with the home 
government, (which is not small,) is exerted 
against it. They are a festering thorn in the sides 
of the planters, among whom they maintain a 
fearless espionage, exposing by pen and tongue 
their iniquitous proceedings. It is to be regretted 
that their influence in this respect is so sadly 
weakened by their holding apprentices themselves. 

We had repeated invitations to breakfast and 
dine with colored gentlemen, which we accepted 
as often as our engagements would permit. On 
such occasions we generally met a company of 
gentlemen and ladies of superior social and intel- 
lectual accomplishments. We must say, that it is 
a great self-denial to i-efrain from a description of 
some of the animated, and we must add splendid, 
parties of colored people which we attended. 



The conversation on these occasions mostly turned 
on the political and civil disabilities under which 
the colored population formerly labored, and the i 
various struggles by which they ultimately ob- { 
tained their rights. The following are a few 
items of their history. The colored people of 
Jamaica, though very numerous, and to some j 
extent wealthy and intelligent, were long kept by 
the white colonists in a state of abject political 
bondage. Not only were offices withheld from 
them, and the right of suifrage denied, but they 
were not even allowed the privilege of an oath in \ 
court, in defence of their property or their persons, :' 
They might be violently assaulted, their limbs 
broken, their wives and daughters might be out- ' 
raged before their eyes by villains having white 
skins; yet they had no legal redress "unless 
another white man chanced to see the deed. It 
was not until 1824, that this oppressive enactment 
was repealed, and the protection of an oath ex- 
tended to the colored people; nor was it then 
effected without a long struggle on their part. 

Another law, equally worthy of a slaveholding 
legislature, prohibited any white man, however 
wealthy, bequeathing, or in any manner giving, 
his colored son or daughter more than £2000 cur- 
rency, or six thousand dollars. The design of 
this law was to keep the colored people poor and 
dependent upon the whites. Further to secure the 
same object, every effort, both legislative and 
private, was made to debar them from schools, and 
sink them in the lowest ignorance. Their young 
men of talent were glad to get situations as clerks 
in the stores of white merchants. Their young 
ladies of beauty and accomplishments were for- 
tune-made if they got a place in the white man's 
harem. These were the highest stations to which 
the flower of their youth aspired. The rest sunk 
beneath the discouragements, and grovelled in 
vice and debasement. If a colored person had 
any business with a white gentleman, and should 
call at his house, " he must take off his hat, and 
wait at the door, and be as polite as a dog." 

These insults and oppressions the colored 
people in Jamaica bore, until they could bear 
them no longer. By secret correspondence they 
formed a union throughout the island, for the pur- 
pose of resistance. This, however, was not 
effected for a long time, and while in process, the 
correspondence was detected, and the most vigo- 
rous means were used by the whites to crush the 
growing conspiracy — for such it was virtually. 
Persuasions and intimidations were used private- 
ly, and when these failed, public persecutions were 
resorted to, under the form of judicial procedures. 
Among the milder means, was the dismission of 
clerks, agents, &c., from the employ of white men. 
As soon as a merchant discovered that his clerk 
was implicated in the correspondence, he first 
threatened to discharge him unless he would 
promise to desert his brethren : if he could not 
extort this promise, he immediately put his threat 
in execution. Edward Jordon, Esq., the talented 
editor of the Watchman, then first clerk in the 
store of a Mr. Briden, was prominently concerned 
in the correspondence, and was summarily dis- 
missed. 

White men drove their colored sons from their 
houses, and subjected them to every indignity 
and suffering, in order to deter them from prose- 
cuting an enterprise which was seen by the terri- 
fied oppressors to be fraught with danger to them- 
selves. Then followed more violent measures. 
Persons suspected of being the projeCkOrs of tha 



JfAMAlCA. 



89 



iisaffection, were dragged before incensed judges, 
and after mock trials, were sentenced to imprison- 
rtit lit in tlie city jail. Messrs. Jordon and Os- 
fiornf, (after they had established the Watchman 
paper,} vVere both imprisoned ; the former twice, 
-Jbr five months each time. At the close of the 
• second term of imprisonment, Mr. Jordon was 
tiled for his life, on the charge of having pub- 
ijlied seditious matter in the Watchman. 
The paragraph which was denominated ' se- 
iious ■matter'' was this — 

" Now that the member for Westmoreland (Mr. 
Beaumont) has come over to our side, we will, by 
\ long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether, 
bring down the system by the run, knock off the 
fetters, and let the oppressed go free." 

On the day of Mr. J. 's trial, the court-room was 
thronged with colored men, who had armed them- 
selves, and were determined, if the sentence of 
death were pronounced upon Mr. Jordon, to 
rescue him at whatever hazard. It is supposed 
that their purpose was conjectured by the judges — 
at any rate, they saw fit to acquit Mr. J. and give 
him his enlargement. The Watchman continued 
as fearless and seditious as ever, until the Assem- 
bly were ultimately provoked to threaten some 
extreme measure which shoidd effectually silence 
the agitators. Then Mr. Jordon issued a spirited 
circular, in which he stated the extent of the 
coalition among the colored people, and in a tone 
of defiance demanded the instant repeal of every 
restrictive law, the removal of every disability, 
and the extension of complete political equality ; 
declaring, that if the demand were not complied 
with, the whole colored population would rise in 
arms, would proclaim freedom to their own slaves, 
instigate the slaves generally to rebellion, and 
then shout war and wage it, until the streets of 
Kingston should run blood. This bold piece of 
generalship succeeded. The terrified legislators 
huddled together in their Assembly-room, and 
swept away, at one blow, all restrictions, and 
gave the colored people entire enfranchisement. 
These occurrences took place in 1831 ; since which 
time the colored class have been politically free, 
and have been marching forward with rapid step 
in every species of improvement, and are now on 
a higher footing than in any other colony. All 
offices are open to them ; they are aldermen of 
the city, justices of the peace, inspectors of public 
institutions, trustees of schools, etc. There are, 
ut least, ten colored special magistrates, natives of 
the island. There are four colored members of 
the Assembly, including Messrs. Jordon and 
Osborne. Mr. Jordon now sits in tJie same As- 
sembly, side by side, with the man who, a few 
years ago, ejected him disdainfully from his 
clerkship. He is a member of the Assembly for 
the city of Kingston, where not long since he was 
imprisoned, and tried for his life. He is also 
alderman of the city, and one of its local magis- 
trates. He is now inspector of the same prison in 
which he was formerly immured as a pestilent 
fellow, and a mover of sedition. 

The secretary of the special magistrate depart- 
ment, Richard Hill, Esq., is a colored gentleman, 
and is one of the first men in the island,* for in- 
tegrity, independence, superior abilities, and ex- 
tensive acquirements. It has seldom been our 
happiness to meet with a man moie illustrious fin- 
true nobility of soul, or in whose countenance 

'We learn from the Jamaica papers, since our return 
to this country thaj Mr. Hill has been elected a member 
01 tue Assembly. 



there were deeper traces of intellectual and morel 
greatness. We are confident that no man can see 
him without being impressed with his rare com- 
bination of excellences. 

Having said thus much respecting the political 
advancement of the colored people, it is proper to 
remark, that they have by no means evinced a 
determination to claim more than tlieir share of 
office and influence. On the contrary, they stop 
very far short of what they are entitled to. Hav- 
ing an extent of suffrage but little less than the 
whites, they might fill one third of the seats in 
the Assembly, whereas they now return but four 
members out of forty-five. The same may be 
said of other offices, particularly those in the city 
of Kingston, and the larger towns, where they are 
equal to, or more numerous, than tiie whites. It 
is a fact, that a portion of the colored people con- 
tinue at this time to return white members to the 
Assembly, and to vole for white aldermen and 
otiier city officers. The influential men among 
them, have always urged them to take up white 
men, unless they could find competent men of their 
own color. As they remarked to us, if they were 
obliged to send an ass to the Assembly, it was far 
better for tiLcm to send a white ass than a black 
one. 

In company with a friend, we visited the prin- 
cipal streets and places of business in Kingston, 
for the purpose of seeing, for ourselves, the general 
employments of the people of color ; and those 
who engage in the lowest offices, such as porters, 
watermen, draymen, and servants of all grades, 
from him who flaunts in livery, to him who 
polishes shoes, are of course from this class. So 
with the fruiterers, fishmongers, and the almost in- 
numerable tribe of petty hucksters which swarm 
throughout the city, and is collected in a dense 
mass in its suburbs. The market, which is the 
largest and best in the West Indies, is almost 
entirely supplied and attended by colored per- 
sons, mostly females. The great body of artisans 
is composed mostly of colored persons. 

The.re are two large furniture and cabinet 
manufactories in Kingston, one owned by two 
colored men, and the other by a white man. The 
operatives, of which one contains eighty, and the 
other nearly as many, are all black and colored. 
A large number of them are what the British law 
terms apprentices, and are still bound in unre- 
munerated servitude, though some of them for 
thrice seven years have been adepts in their trades, 
and not a few are earning their masters twenty or 
thirty dollars each month, clear of all expenses. 
Some of these apprentices are hoary-headed and 
wrinkle-browed men, with their children, and 
grand-children, apprentices also, around them, and 
who, after having used the plane and the chisel 
for half a century, with faithfulness for Olivers, 
are now sjiending the few hours and tlie failing 
strength of old age in preparins: to use the plane 
and the chisel for themselves. The work on which 
they were engaged evinced no lack of mechanical 
skill and ingenuity, but on the contrary we 
were shown some of the most elegant speci- 
mens of mechanical skill, which we ever saw. 
The rich woods of the West Indies were put into 
almost every form and combination which taste 
could designate or luxury desire. 

TliP owners of these Vsiaiilishments informed 
us that their business had imirli increased irUhin 
the last two years, and was still extending. Nei- 
ther of them had any fears for the results of com- 
plete emancipation, but both were lay'tig their 



dO 



JAMAICA. 



plans for the future as broadly and confidently as 



ever. 



In our walk we accidentally met a colored man, 
whom we had heard mentioned on several occa- 
sions as a superior architect. From the conversa- 
tion we had with him, then and subsequently, he 
appeared to possess a fine mechanical genius, and 
to have made acquirements which would be hon- 
orable in any man, but which were truly admi- 
rable in one, who had been shut up all his life by 
the disabilities which in Jamaica have, until re- 
cently, attached to color. He superintended the 
erection of the Wesleyan chapel in Kingston, the 
largest building of the kind in the island, and 
esteemed by many as the most elegant. The plan 
was his own, and the work was executed under 
his own eye. This man is using his means and 
influence to encourage the study of his favorite 
art, and of the arts and sciences generally, among 
those of his own hue. 

One of the largest bookstores -in the island is 
owned by two colored men, (Messrs. Jordon and 
Osborne, ah-eady referred to.) Connected with it 
is an extensive printing-office, from which a news- 
paper IS issued twice a week. Another paper, 
under the control of colored men, is published at 
Spanishtown. These are the two principal liberal 
presses in Jamaica, and are conducted with spirit 
and ability. Their influence in the political and 
civil affairs of the island is very great. They are 
the organs of the colored people, bond and free, 
and through them any violation of law or hu- 
manity is exposed to the public, and redress de- 
manded, and generally obtained. In literary 
merit and correctness of moral sentiment, they 
are not excelled by anj' press there, while some 
of their white contemporaries fall far below them 
in both. Besides the workmen employed in these 
two offices, there is a large number of colored 
printers in the otlier printing offices, of which 
there are several. 

We called at two large establishments for 
making jellies, comfits, pickles, and all the varie- 
ties of U-Qpic preserves. In each of them thirty or 
more persons are constantly employed, and a cap- 
ital of some thousands of dollars invested. Sev- 
eral large rooms were occupied by boxes, jars, 
and canisters, with the apparatus necessary to 
the process, through which the fruit passes. We 
saw every species of fruits and vegetables which 
the island produces, some fresli from the trees and 
vines, and others ready to be transported to the 
four quarters of the globe, in almost every state 
which the invalid or epicure could desire. These 
articles, with the different preparations of arrow- 
root and cassada, form a lucrative branch of trade, 
which is mostly in the liands of the colored people. 

We were introduced to a large number of col- 
ored merchants, dealers in dry goods, crockery 
and glass ware, ironmongers, booksellers, drug- 
gists, grocers, and general importers, and were 
conducted by them through their stores; many of 
which were on an extensive scale, and managed, 
apparently, with mucli order and regularity. One 
of the largest commercial houses in Kingston has 
a colored man as a partner, the other two being 
white. Of a large auction and commission firm, 
the most active and leading partner is a colored 
man. Besides these, there is hardly a respectable 
house among the white merchants, in which some 
important office, oftentimes the head clerkship, is 
not filled by a person of color. They are as much 
respected in business transactions, and their mer- 
cantile talents, thei acquaintance with the gene- 



ralities and details of commerce, and sagacity andj 
judgment in making bargains, are as highly es-| 
teemed by the white merchants, as though they? 
wore an European hue. The commercial room isj; 
open to them, where they resort unrestrainedly t&| 
ascertain the news; and a visitor may not unfre I 
quently see sitting together at a table of news- j 
papers, or conversing together in the parlance of j 
trade, persons as dissimilar in complexion as- 
white and black can make them. In the streets 
the same intercourse is seen. 

The general trade of the island is gradually, 
and quietly passing into the hands of the coloreQ 
people. Before emancipation, they seldom reacheC ! 
a higher grade in mercantile life than a clerkship, [ 
or, if they commenced business for themselves, » 
they were shackled and confined in their opera- 
tions by the overgrown and monopolizing esta'^- i 
lishments which slavery had bulk up. Tliougl: , 
the civil and political rights of one class of them. I 
were acknowledged three years previous, yet thev I 
found they could not, even if they desired it, dis | 
connect tliemselves from the slaves. Tiiey could i 
not transact business — form credits and agencies, j 
and receive the confidence of the commerelal pub ] 
lie — like free men. Strange or not, their fr.te was] 
inseparably linked with that of the bondman , \ 
their interests were considered as involved with! 
his. However honest they might be, it was not! 
safe to trust them ; and any attempt to rise above ! 
a clerkship, to become the employer instead of ih&j 
employed, was regarded as a kind of insurrection, '■ 
and strongly disapproved and opposed. Since] 
emancipation, they have been unshackling them i 
selves from white domination in matters of tradcji 
extending their connections, and becoming every 
day more and more independent. They have 
formed credits with commercial houses abroad, 
and now import directly for themselves, at whole- 
sale prices, what they were fornlerly obliged to 
receive from white Importers, or rather specu- 
lators, at such prices as they, in their tender mer- 
cies, saw fit to impose. 

Trade is now equalizing itself among all classes. 
A spirit of competition is awakened, banks have 
been established, steam navigation introduced, 
railroads projected, old highways repaired, and 
new ones opened. The descendants of the slaves 
are rapidly supplying the places which were for- 
merly filled by whites from abroad. 

We had the pleasure of being present one day 
at the sitting of the police court of Kingston. Mr.i 
Jordon, the editor of the Watchman, in his turnip 
as a member of tlie common council, was presid-'' 
ing justice, with an alderman of the city, a black' 
man, as his associate. At a talkie below them sat 
the superintendent of police, a white man, and two j 
white attorneys, with their huge law books and 
green bags before them. The bar was surroundt-d 
by a motley assemblage of black, colored, and* 
white faces, intermingled without any regard tob 
hue in the order of superiority and precedence. | 
There were about a dozen cases adjudged wjiile; 
we were present. The court was conducted with 
order and dignity, and the justices were treated , 
with great respect and deference both by white I 
and black. 

After the adjournment of the court, we had some 
conversation with the presiding justice. He in- 
formed us that whites were not unfrequently ' 
brought before him for trial, and, in spite of his ! 
color, sometimes even our own countrym.en. He] 
mentioned several instances of the latter, in some j 
of whi^^'i. American prejudice assumed very ; 



JAMAICA. 



91 



amusing and ludicrous forms. In one case, he 
was obliged to threaten the party, a captain from 
one of our southern ports, with imprisonment for 
contempt, before he could induce him to behave 
himself with proper decorum. Tiie captain, un- 
accustomed to obey injunctions from men of such 
a complexion, curled his lip in scorn, and showed 
n spirit of defiance, but on the approach of two 
police officers, whom the court had ordered to ar- 
rest him, he submitted himself We were grati- 
fied with the spirit of good humor and pleasantry 
(witli which iMr. J. described the astonishment and 
/gaping curiosity whicii Americans manifest on 
I seeing colored men in offices of authority, particu- 
I larly on the judicial bench, and their evident em- 
harrassment and uneasiness whenever obliged to 
transact business with tiiem as magistrates. He 
seemed to regard it as a subject well worthy of 
ridicule; and we remarked, in our intercourse 
with the colored people, that they were generally 
more disposed to make themselves merry with 
American sensitiveness on tliis point, than to 
bring serious complaints against it, though they 
feel deeply the wrongs which they have suffered 
from it, and speak of them occasionally with so- 
lemnity and earnestness. Still the feeling is so 
absurd and ludicrous in itself, and is exhibited in 
so many grotesque positions, even when oppress- 
ive, that the sufferer cannot help laughing at it. 
Mr. Jordon has held his present office since 1832. 
tie has had an extensive opportunity, both as a 
justice of the police court, and as a member of the 
jail committee, and in other official stations, to 
become well acquainted with the state of crime 
in the island at different periods. He informed 
us that the number of complaints brought before 
him had much diminished since 1834, and he had 
no hesitation in saying, that crime had decreased 
iliroughout the island generally more than one 
third. 

During one of our excursions into the country, 
we witnessed another instance of the amicability 
with which the different colors associated in the 
civil affairs of the island. It was a meeting of 
one of the parish vestries, a kind of local legisla- 
ture, which possesses considerable power over its 
own territory. There were fifteen members pres- 
ent, and nearly as many different shades of com- 
plexion. There was the planter of aristocratic 
blood, and at his side was a deep mulatto, born in 
the same parish a slave. There was the quad- 
roon, and the unmitigated hue and unmodified 
features of the negro. They sat together around 
a circular table, and conversed as freely as though 
they had been all of one color. There was no re- 
straint, no uneasiness, as though the parties felt 
themselves out of place, no assumption nor disre- 
spect, but all the proceedings manifested the most 
perfect harmony, confidence, and good feeling. 

At the same time there was a meeting of the 
parish committee on roads, at which there was 
the same intermixture of colors, the same freedom 
and kindness of demeanor, and the same unanim- 
ity of action. Thus it is with all the political 
and civil bodies in the island, from the House of 
Assembly, to committees on jails and houses of 
correction. Into all of them, the colored people 
are gradually making their way, and participa- 
ting in public debates and public measures, and 
dividing with the whites legislative and judicial 
power, and in many cases they exhibit "a supe- 
riority, and in all cases a respectability, of talents 
and attainments, and a courtesy and general pro- 
jr. • '-^^.i'.tcL which gain for them the respect 



of the intelligent and candid among their vnite 
associates. 

We visited the house of correction for \he parish 
of St. Andrews. The superintendent received us 
with the iron-hearted courtesy of a Newgate turn- 
key. Our company was evidently unwelcome, 
but as the friend who accompanied us was a man 
in authority, he was constrained to admit us. 
The first sound that greeted us was a piercing 
outcry from the treadmill. On going to it, we 
saw a youth of about eighteen hanging in the air 
by a strap bound to his wrist, and dangling 
against the wheel in such a manner that every 
revolution of it scraped the body from the breast 
to the ankles. He had fallen off from weakness 
and fatigue, and was struggling and crying in 
the greatest distress, while the strap, which ex- 
tended to a pole above and stretched his arm high 
above his head, held him fast. The superintend- 
ent, in a harsh voice, ordered him to be lifted up, 
and his feet again placed on the wheel. But be- 
fore he had taken five steps, he again fell off, and 
was suspended as before. At the same instant, 
a woman also fell off, and without a sigh or the 
motion of a muscle, for she was too much ex- 
hausted for either, but with a shocking wildness 
of the eye, hung by her half-dislocated arms 
against the wheel. As the allotted time (fifteen 
minutes) had expired, the persons on the wheel 
were released, and permitted to rest. The boy 
could hardly stand on the ground. He had a 
large ulcer on one of his feet, which was much 
swollen and inflamed, and his legs and body were 
greatly bruised and peeled by the revolving of the 
wheel. The gentleman who was with us reproved 
the superintendent severely for his conduct, and 
told him to remove the boy from the treadmill 
gang, and see that proper care was taken of him. 
The poor woman who fell off, seemed completely 
exhausted ; she tottered to the wall near by, and 
took up a little babe which we had not observed 
before. It appeared to be not more than two or 
three months old, and the little thing stretched out 
its arms and welcomed its mother. On inquiry, 
we ascertained that this woman's offence was 
absence from the field an hour after the required 
time (six o'clock) in the morning. Besides the 
infant with her, she had two or three other chil- 
dren. Whether the care of them was any excuse 
for her, we leave American mothers to judge. 
There w"ere two other women on the treadmill — 
one was sentenced there for stealing cane from 
her master's field, and the other, we believe, for 
running away. 

The superintendent next took us to the solitary 
cells. They were dirty, and badly ventilated, 
and unfit to keep beasts in. On opening the 
doors, such a stench rushed forth, that we could 
not remain. There was a poor woman in one of 
them, who appeared, as the light of day and the 
fresh air burst in upon her, like a despairing ma- 
niac. 

We went through the other buildings, all of 
which were old and dirty, nay, worse, filthy in 
the extreme. The whole establishment was a 
disgrace to the island. The prisoners were poorly 
clad, and had the appearance of harsh usage. 
Our suspicions of ill treatment were strengthened 
by noticing a large whip in the treadmill, and 
sundry iron collars and handcuffs hanging about 
in the several rooms through which we passed. 

The number of iinnates in this house at our 
visit, was forty-eight — eighteen of whom were 
females. Twenty of these were in the treadmil. 



92 



JAMAICA, 



and in solitary confinement — the remainder were 
working on the public road at a little distance — 
many of them in irons — iron collars about their 
necks, and chains passing between, connecting 
them together two and two. 



CHAPTER II. 

TOUR TO THE COUNTRY. 

Wishing to accomplish the most that our limit- 
ed ?ime would allow, we separated at Kingston ; 
— the one taking a northwesterly route among the 
mountainous coffee districts of Port Royal and 
St. Andrews, and the other going into the i3arish 
of St. Thomas in the East. 

St. Thomas in the East is said to present the 
apprenticeship in its most favorable aspects. 
There is probably no other parish in the island 
which includes so many fine estates, or has so 
many liberal-minded planters.* A day's easy 
drive from Kingston, brought us to Morant Bay, 
where we spent two days, and called on several 
influential gentlemen, besides visiting the neigh- 
boring estate of Belvidere. One gentleman whom 
we met was Thomas Thomson, Esq., the senior 
local magistrate of the Parish, next in civil influ- 
ence to the Gustos. His standing may be inferred 
from the circumstance, (not trifling in Jamaica,) 
that the Governor, during his tour of the island, 
spent a night at his house. We breakfasted willi 
Mr. Thomson, and at that time, and subsequently, 
he showed the utmost readiness in furnishing us 
with information. He is a Scotchman, has been 
in the island for thirty-eight years, and has served 
as a local magistrate for thirty-four. Until very 
lately, he has been a proprietor of estates ; he in- 
formed us that he had sold out, but did not men- 
tion the reasons. We sti-ongly suspected, from 
the drift of liis conversation, that he sold about the 
time of abolition, through alarm for the conse- 
quences. We early discovered that he was one 
of the old school tyrants, hostile to the change 
which had taken place, and dreadfully alarmed in 
view of tiiat which was yet to come. Although 
full of tlie prejudices of an old slaveholder, yet 
we found him a man of strong native sense and 
considerable intelligence. He declared it most 
unreservedly as his opinion, that the negroes 
would not work after 1810 — they were 7ialic- 
rally so indolent, that they would prefer gaining 
a livelihood in some easier way than by digging 
cane holes. He had all the results of the eman- 
cipation of 1810 as clearly before his mind, as 
though he saw them in prophetic vision ; he knew 
the whole process. One portion of the negroes, 
too lazy to provide food by their own labor, will 
rob the provision grounds of the few who will 
remain at work. The latter will endure the wrong 
as long as they well can, and then they will pro- 
cure arms and fire upon the marauders ; this will 
give rise to incessant petty conflicts between the 
lazy and the industrious, and a great destruction 
of life will ensue. Others will die in vast num- 
bers from starvation ; among these w ill be the su- 
perannuated and the young, who cannot support 
themselves, and whom the planters will not be 
able to support. Others numerous will perish 
from disease, chiefly for want of medical attend- 

' V/e have the fdllowing testimnny of Sir Lionel Smith 
to tiie superiority of St. Thomas in tlie East. It is taken 
from the Royal Gar.olte, (Kingston,) May 6, 1837. "His 
Excellency has saiii, that in all his tour he was not more 
niffhly gratified with any parish than he was witli St. 
Ikoioas iB tho East." 



ance, which it will be wholly out of their power 
to provide. Such is the dismal picture drawn by a 
late slaveholder, of the consequences of removing 
the negroes from the tender mercies of oppressors. 
Happily for all parties, Mr. Thomson is not very ,. 
likely to establish his claim to the character of ail 
prophet. .We were not at all surprised to hear 
him wind up his prophecies against freedom with 
a denunciation of slavery. He declared that 
slavery was a wretched system. Man was natu- 
rallij a tyrant. Mr. T. said he had one good , 
thing to say of the negroes, viz., that they were i 
an exceedingly temperate people. It was a very 
unusual thing to see one of them drunk. Slavery, 
he said, was a system of horrid cruellies. He 
had lately read, in the history of Jamaica, of a 
planter, in 1763, having a slave's leg cut off, to 
keep him from running away. He said that 
dreadful cruelties were perpetrated until the close 
of slavery, and they were inseparable from sla- 
very. He also spoke of the fears which haunted 
the slaveholders. He never would live on an 
estate; and whenever he chanced to stay over 
night in the country, he always took care to se- 1 
cure his door by bolting and barricading it. At ' 
Mr. Thomson's we met Andrew Wright, Esq., 
the proprietor of a sugar estate called Green Wall, 
situated some six miles from the bay. He is an 
intelligent gentleman, of an amiable disposition — 
has on his estate one hundred and sixty appren- 
tices. He described his people as being in a very 
peaceable state, and as industrious as lie could 
wish. He said he had no trouble with them, and 
it was his opinion, that where there is trouble, it 
must be otinyig to bad management. He antici- 
pated no difficulty after 1840, and was confident 
that his people would not leave him. He b(v 
lieved that the negroes would not to any great ex 
tent abandon the cultivation of sugar after 1840. 
Mr. T. stated two facts respecting this enlighten- 
ed planter, which amply account for the good con- 
duct of his apprentices. One was, that he was 
an exceedingly kind and amiable man. He had 
never been known to have a falling out loith o,ny 
man in his life. Another fact was, that Mr. 
Wright was the only resident sugar proprietor in 
all that region of country. He superintends his 
own estate, while the other large estates are gene- 
rally left in the hands of unprincipled, mercenary 
men. 

We called on the Wesleyan missionary, at Mo- 
rant Bay, Rev. Mr. Crookes, who has been in Ja- 
maica fifteen years. Mr. C. s'aid, that in many 
respects there had been a great improvement since 
the abolition of slavery, but, said he, " I abomi- 
nate the apprenticeship system. At best, it is 
ox\\y improved slavery." The obstacles to religious 
efforts have been considerably diminished, but the 
masters were not to be thanked for this; it was 
owing chiefly to the protection of British law. 
The apprenticeship, Mr. C. thought, could not be 
any material preparation for freedom. He was 
persuaded that it would have been far better policy 
to have granted entire emancipation at once. 

In company with Mr. Howell, an Independent, 
and teacher of a school of eighty negro children" 
in Morant Bay, we drove out to Belvidere estate, 
which is situated about four miles from the bay, 
in a rich district called the Blue Mountain Valley. 
The Belvidere is one of the finest estates in the 
vail'^y. It contains two thou.snnd acres, only fouf 
hund'red of which are cultivated in sugar; the 
most of it is woodland. This estate belongs to 
Count Freeman, aia absentee proprietor. Wfi 



JAMAICA. 



93 



took breakfast with the overseer, or manager, Mr. 
Bri^nt. Mr. B. stated that there was not so much 
work done now as there was during slavery. 
Thinks there is as much dotw.for the length of 
'.ime that the apprentice!; arc at work ; but a day 
jiid a half every week is lost ; neither are they 
: lied out as early in the morning, nor do they 
r Ilk as late at night. The apprentices work at 
\\%hi very cheerfully for money: but they will not 
Aork on Saturday for the common wages — quar- 
I r of a dollar. On inquiry of Mr. B., we ascer- 
uined that the reason the apprentices did not 

(vork on Saturdays was, that they could make 
wicc or three times as much by cultivating their 
rovision grounds, and carrying their produce to 
larket. At night they cannot cultivate their 
rounds, then they work for their masters " very 
heerfully." 

The manager stated, that there had been no 
iisturbance with the people of Belvidere since the 
hange. They work well, and conduct themselves 
lence'ably; and he had no fear but that the great 
)ody of the negroes would remain on the estate 
ifter 1840, and labor as usual. This he thought 
vould be the case on every estate where there is 
nild management. Some, indeed, might leave 
ven such estates to try their fortunes elsewhere, 
lutthey would soon discover that they could get no 
letter treatment abroad, and they would then re- 
urn to their old homes. , 

While we were at Belvidere, Mr. Howell took 
IS to see a new chapel which the apprentices of 
hat estate have erected since 1834, by their own 
abor, and at their own expense. The house is 
hirty feet by forty, composed of the same materi- 
ils of which the negro huts are built. We were 
.old that the building of this chapel was first sug- 
gested by the apprentices, and as soon as permis- 
sion was obtained, they commenced the prepara- 
tions for its erection. We record this as a delightful 
sign of the times. 

On our return to Morant Bay, we visited the 
house of correction^ situated near the village. 
This is the only " institution," as a Kingston pa- 

fer gravely terms it, of the kind in the parish. 
I is a small, ill-constructed establishment, hor- 
rioly filthy, more like a receptacle for wild beasts 
than human beings. There is a treadmill connect- 
ed with it, made "to accommodate Mieen persons at 
a time. Alternate companies ascend the wheel 
every fifteen minutes. It was unoccupied when 
we went in ; most of the prisoners being at work 
on the public roads. Two or three, who happened 
to be near by, were called in by the keeper, and 
ordered to mount the wheel, to show us how it 
worked. It made our blood run cold as we thought 
of the dreadful suffering that inevitably ensues, 
when the foot loses the step, and the body hangs 
against the revolving cylinder. 

Leaving the house of correction, we proceeded 
to the village. In a small open square in the cen- 
tre of it, wc saw a number of the unhappy inmates 
of the house of correction at work under the di- 
rection, wc are sorry to say, of our friend Thomas 
Thomson, Esq. They were chained two and two 
by heavy chains fastened to iron bands around 
their necks. On another occasior, we saw the 
same gang at work in the yard attached to the In- 
dependent chapel. 

We received a visit, at our lodgings, from the 
special justice of this district, Major Baines. He 
was accompanied by Mr. Thomson, who came to 
introduce him as his friend. We were not left to 
t^is recommendation alone, suspicious as it was, 



to infer the character of this magistrate, for v.'C 
were advertised previously that he was a " planter's 
man" — unjust and cruel to the apprentices. Ma- 
jor B. appeared to have been looking through his 
friend Thomson's prophetic telescope. There was 
certainly a wonderful coincidence of vision— the 
same abandonment of labor, the same preying up- 
on provision grounds, the same violence, bloodshed 
and great loss of life among the negroes them 
selves ! However, the special magistrate appeared 
to sec a little further than the local magistrate, even 
to the C7id of the carnage, and to the re-establish- 
inent of industry, peace and prosperity. Theevil, 
he was confident, would soon cure itself 

One remark of the special magistrate was wor- 
thy a prophet. When asked if he thought there 
would beany serious disallection produced among 
the praedials' by the emancipation of tlie non-prae- 
dials in 1838, he said, he thought there would not be, 
and assigned as the reason, that the praedials knew 
all about the arrangement, and did not expect to be 
free. That is, the field apprentices knew that 
the domestics were to be liberated two years 
sooner than they, and, without inquiring into the 
grounds, or justice of the arrangement, t^hcy would 
promptly acquiesce in it ! 

What a fine compliment to the patience and for- 
bearance of the mass of the negroes. The major- 
ity see the minority emancipated two years betbre 
them, and that, too, upon the ground of an odious 
distinction which makes the domestic more worthy 
than they who "bear the heat and burthen of the 
day." in the open field ; and yet they submit pa- 
tiently, because they are told that it is the pleasure 
of government tliat it should be so ! 

The non-praedials, too, have their noble traits, 
as well as the less favored agriculturalists. The 
special magistrate said that he was then engaged 
in classifying the apprentices of the different es- 
tates in his district. The object of this classifi- 
cation was, to ascertain all tho-se who were non- 
praedials, that they might be recorded as the 
subjects of emancipation in 1838. To his aston- 
ishment he found numbers of tliis class who ex- 
pressed a wish to remain apprentices until 1840. 
On one estate, si.x out of eight took this course, 
on another, twelve out of fourteen, and in some 
instances, all the non-praedials determined to suf- 
fer it out with the rest of their brethren, refusing 
to accept freedom until with the whole body they 
could rise up and shout the jubilee of universal 
disinthrallment. Here is a nobility worthy to 
compare with the patience of the praedials. 
In connection with the conduct of the non-praedi- 
als, he mentioned the following instance of white 
brutality and negro magnanimity. A planter, 
whose negroes he was classifying, brought for- 
ward a woman whom he claimed as a praedial. 

The woman declared that she was a non-praedi- 
al, and on investigation it was clearly proved 
that she had always been a domestic, and conse- 
quently entitled to freedom in 1838. After the 
planter's claim was set aside, the woman said, 
" ISow I will stay with massa, and be his 'prentice 
for de udder two year." 

Shortly before we left the Bay, our landlady, a 
colored woman, introduced one of her neighbors, 
whose conversation afibrded us a rare treat. She 
was a colored lady of good appearance and lady 
like manners. Supposing from her color that she 
had been yjrompted by strong sympathy in our ob- 
jects to seek an interview with us, we immediately 
introduced the subject of slavery, stating that as we 
had a vast number of slaves in our country, we 



94 



JAMAICA 



had visited Jamaica to see how the freed people 
behaved, with the hope that our countrymen might 
oe encouraged to adopt emancipation. " Alack a 
day !" Tiie tawny madam shook her head, and, 
with that peculiar Creole whine, so expressive of 
contempt, said, " Can't say any thing for you, sir 
— they not doing no good now, sir — the negroes 
an't!" — and on she went abusing the apprentices, 
and denouncing abolition. No American white 
lady could speak more disparagingly of the nig- 
gers, than did this recreant descendant of the 
negro race. They did' no work, they stole, were 
insolent, insubordinate, and what not. 

She concluded in the following elegiac strain, 
which did not fail to touch our sympathies. " I 
can't tell what will become of us after 1840. Our 
legroes will be taken away from us — we shall 
find no work to do ourselves — we shall all have 
to beg, and wlio shall we beg froml All will be 
beggars, and wc must starve !" 

Poor Miss L. is one of that unfortunate class 
who have hitherto gained a meagre support from 
the stolen hire of a few slaves, and who, after en- 
tire emancipation, will be stripped of every thing. 
This is the class upon whom emancipation will 
fall most heavily; it will at once cast many out 
of a situation of case, into the humiliating dilem- 
ma of laboring or begging — to the latter of which 
alternatives. Miss L. seems inclined. Let Miss 
L. be comforted ! It is better to beg than to steal. 

We proceeded from Morant Bay to Bath, a dis- 
tance of fourteen miles, where we put up at a neat 
cottage lodging-house, kept by Miss P., a colored 
lady. Bath is a picturesque little village, em- 
bowered in perpetual green, and lying at the foot 
of a mountain on one side, and on the other by 
the margin of a rambling little river. It seems to 
have accumulated around it and within it, all the 
verdure and foliage of a tropical clime. 

Having a letter of introduction, we called on 
the special magistrate for that district — George 
Willis, Esq. As we entered his office, an appren- 
tice was led up in irons by a policeman, and at 
the same time another man rode up with a letter 
from the master of the apprentice, directing the 
magistrate to release him instantly. The facts of 
this case, as Mr. W. himself explained them to 
us, will illustrate the careless manner in which 
tb-' magistrates administer the law. The master 
1. i sent his apprentice to a neighboring estate, 
where there had been some disturbance, to get his 
clothes, which had been left there. The overseer 
of the estate finding an intruder on his property, 
had him handcuffed forthwith, notwithstanding 
his repeated declarations that his master had sent 
him. Having handcuffed him, he ordered him to 
be taken before the special magistrate, Mr. W., 
who had him confined in the station-house all 
night. Mr. W., in pursuance of the direction 
received from the master, ordered the man to be 
released, but at the same time repeatedly declared 
to him that the overseer was not to blame for ar- 
resting him. 

After this case was disposed of, Mr. W. turned 
to us. He said he had a district of thirty miles 
in extent, including five thousand apprentices ; 
these he visited thrice every month. He stated 
that there had been a gradual decrease of crime 
since he came to the district, which was early in 
1835. For example, in March, 1837, there were 
but twenty-four persons punished, and in March, 
1835, there were as many punished in a single 
week. He explained this by saying that the ap- 
prentices had lecome better acqumnted vjith the 



requirerrvents of the law. The chief offence at 
present was absconding from labor. 

This magistrate gave us an account of an 
alarming rebellion which had lately occurred in 
his district, which we will venture to notice, since \ 
it is the only serious disturbance on the part of \ 
the negroes, which has taken place in the island, 1 
from the beginning of the apprenticeship. About 
two weeks before, the apprentices on Thornton 
estate, amounting to about ninety, had refused to 
work, and fled in a body to the woods, where 
they still remained. Their complaint, according 
to our informant, was, that their master had turned 
the cattle upon their provision grounds, and all 
their provisions were destroyed, so that they 
could not live. They, therefore, determined that 
they would not continue at work, seeing they 
would be obliged to starve. Mr. W. stated that 
he had visited the provision grounds, in company 
with two disinterested planters, and he could af- 
firm that the apprentices had 7io just cause of com- 
plaint. It was true their fences had been broken 
down, and their provisions had been somewhat 
injured, but the fence could be very easily repaired, 
and there was an abundance of yams left to fur- 
nish food for the whole gang for some time to 
come — those that were destroyed being chiefly 
young roots which would not have come to ma- 
turity for several months. Tliese statements 
were the substance of a formal report which he 
had just prepared for the eye of Sir Lionel Smith, 
and which he was kind enough to read to u.' 
This was a fine report, truly, tn come from a spe 
cial justice. To say nothing of ihe short *ime h> 
which the fence might be repair'^, ihose werv 
surely very dainty-mouthed cattle that would con 
sume those roots only whicii were so sr.iall tha» 
several months would be requisite for their matu- 
rity. The report concluded with a recommenda- 
tion to his Excellency to take summary ven- 
geance upon a few of the gang as soon as they could 
be arrested, since they had set such an example to 
the surrounding apprentices. He could not see 
how order and subordination could be preserved 
in his district unless such a punishment was in- 
flicted as would be a warning to all evil doers. 
He further suggested the propriety of sending tha 
maroons* after them, to hunt them out of their 
hiding places and bring them to justice. 

We chanced to obtain a different version of 
this affair, which, as it was confirmed by differ- 
ent persons in Bath, both white and colored, who 
had no connection with each other, we cannot 
help thinking it the true one. 

The apprentices on Thornton, are what is 
termed a jobbing gang, that is, they are hired out 
by their master to any planter who may want 
their services. Jobbing is universally regarded 
by the negroes as the worst kind of service, for 
many reasons — principally because it often takes 
them many miles from their homes, and they are 
still required to supply themselves with food from 
their own provision grounds. They are allowed 
to return home every Friday evening or Satur- 
day, and stay till Monday morning. The own- 
er of the gang in question lately died — to whom it 
is said they were greatly attached — and they 
passed into the hands of a Mr. Jocken, the pres- 
ent overseer. Jocken is a notoriously cruel man. 
It was scarcely a twelvemonth ago, that he was 
* The maroons are free negroes, inhabiting the moun- 
tains of the interior, who were formerly hired by the au- 
thorities, or by planters, to hunt up runaway slaves, and 
return them to their masters. Unfortunately our own 
country is not without its maroons. 



JAMAICA. 



95 



fired <me hundred pounds currency, and sentenced 
to imprisonment for three months in the Kingston 

{'R\\,jorti/ing one of his apprentices to a dead ox, 
lecause the animal died while in the care of the 
npprentice. He also confined a woman in the 
same pen with a dead sheep, because she suffered 
the sheep to die. Repeated acts of cruelty have 
ciused Jocken to be regarded as a monster in the 
cimmunity. From a knowledge of his character, 
tie apprentices of Thornton had a strong preju- 
dice against him. One of the earliesi acts after 
ije went among them, was to break down tlieir 
tnces, and turn his cattle into their provision 
irounds. He then ordered them to go to a dis- 
piit estate to work. This they refused to do, and 
when he attempted to compel them to go. they left 
the estate in a body, and went to the woods. This 
is what is called a state of open rebellioii, and for 
this they were to be hunted like beasts, and to 
suffer such a terrible punishment as would deter 
all other apprentices from taking a similar step. 

This Jocken is the same wretch who wantonly 
handcuffed the apprentice, who went on to his 
estate by the direction of his master. 

i^Ar. Willis showed us a letter which he had 
received that morning from a planter in his dis- 
trict, who had just been trying an experiment in 
job work, (i. e., paying his people so much for a 
certain amount of work.) He had made a propo- 
sition to one of the head men on the estate, that he 
would give him a doubloon an acre if he would 
get ten acres of cane land holed. The man em- 
ployed a large number of apprentices, and accom- 
plished the job on three successive Saturdays. 
They worked at the rate of nearly one hundred 
holes per day for each man, whereas the usual 
day's work is only seventy-five holes. 

Mr. W. bore testimony that the great body of 
the negroes in his district were very peaceable. 
There were but a few incorrigible felloivs, that 
did all the mischief When any disturbance took 
place on an estate, he could generally tell who the 
individual offenders were. He did not think 
there would be any serious difficulty after 1840. 
However, the result he thought would greatly de- 
pend on the conduct of the managers! 

We met in Bath with the proprietor of a coffee 
estate situated a few miles in the country. He 
gave a very favorable account of the people on his 
estate: stating that they were as peaceable and 
industrious as he could desire, that he had their 
confidence, and fully expected to retain it after 
entire en-.ancipation. He anticipated no trouble 
whatever, and he felt assured, too, that if the plant- 
ers V]ould conduct in a proper manner, emancipa- 
tion would be a blessing to the whole colony. 

We called on the Wesleyan missionary, whom 
we found the decided friend and advocate of free- 
dom. He scrupled not to declare his sentiments 
respecting the special magistrate, whom he de- 
clared to be a cruel and dishonest man. He 
seemed to take delight in flogging the apprentices. 
He had got a whipping macliine made and erected 
in front of the Episcopal church in the village of 
Bath. It was a frame of a triangular shape, the 
base of which rested firmly on the ground, and 
navnig a perpendicular beam from the base to the 
apex or angle. To this beam the apprentice's 
body was lashed, with his face towards the ma- 
rhme, and his arms extended at right angles, and 
tied by the wrists. The missionary had wit- 
nessed the floggings at this machine repeatedly, 
as It stood but a few steps from his house. Before 
we reached Bath, the machine had been removed 



from its conspicuous place and concealed %n the 
bushes that the sovernor might v^t see it when he 
visited the Tillage. 

As this missionary had been for several years 
laboring in the island, and had enjoyed the best 
opportunities to become extensively acquainted 
with the negroes, we solicited from him a written 
answer to a number of inquiries. We make some 
extracts from his communication. 

1. Have the facilities for missionary effort 
greatly increased since the abolition of slavery ? 

The opportunities of the apprentices to attend 
the means of grace are greater than during abso- 
lute slavery. They have now one day and a 
half every week to work for their support, leaving 
the Sabbath free to worship God. 

2. Do you anticipate that these facilities will 
increase still more after entire freedom 1 

Yes. The people will then have six days of 
their own to labor for their bread, and will be at 
liberty to go to the house of God every Sabbath. 
Under the present system, the magistrate often 
takes away the Saturday, as a punishment, and 
then they must either work on the Sabbath or 
starve. 

3. Are the negroes likely to revenge by violence 
the wrongs which they have suffered, after they 
obtain their freedom 1 

I never heard the idea suggested, nor-shovM I 
have thought of it had yoti not made the inquiry. 

We called on Mr. Rogers, the teacher of a Mico 
charity infant school in Bath. Mr. R., his wife 
and daughter, are all engaged in this work. 
They have a day school, and evening school 
three evenings in the week, and Sabbath school 
twice each Sabbath. The evening schools arc 
for the benefit of the adult apprentices, who man- 
ifest the greatest eagerness to learn to read. After 
working all day, they will come several miles to 
school, and stay cheerfully till nine o'clock. 

Mr. R. furnished us with a written communi- 
cation, from which we extract the following. 

Quest. " Are the apprentices desirous of being 
instructed 1 

Ans. Most assuredly they are; in proof of 
which I would observe that since our establish- 
ment in Bath, the people not only attend the 
schools regularly, but if they obtain a leaf of a 
book with letters upon it, that is their constant 
companion. We have found mothers with their 
sucking babes in their arms, standing night after 
night in their classes learning the alphabet. 

Q. Are the negroes grateful for attentions and 
favors "? 

A. They are; I have met some who have been 
so much affected by acts of kindness, that they 
have burst into tears, exclaiming, 'Massasokind 
—my heart full.' Their affection to their teach- 
ers is very remarkable. On my return lately 
from Kingston, after a temporary absence, the 
negroes flocked to our residence and surrounded 
the chaise, saying, ' We glad to see massa again ; 
we glad to see school massa.' On my way throuo-h 
an estate some time ago, some of the children 
observed me, and in a transport of joy cried, 
' Thank God, massa come again ! Bltss God de 
Savior, massa come again !' " 

Mr. R., said he, casually met with an appren- 
tice whose master had lately died. The man was 
in the habit of visiting his master's grave every 
Saturday. He said to Mr. R., " Me go to massa 
grave, and de water come into me yeye; but me 
can't help it, massa, de water will come into me 
yeye." 



96 



JAMAICA. 



The Wesleyan missionary told us, that two 
apprenticfs, an aged man and his daughter, a 
young woman, had been brought up by tlieir 
master before tire special magistrate who sen- 
tenced tl-'m to several days confinement in the 
house of correction at Morant Bay, and to dance 
the treadmill. When the sentence was passed 
the daughter entreated tliat she might be allowed 
to do her father^ s part, as well as her own, on the 
treadmill, for he was too old to dance the wheel — 
it would kill him. 

From Bath we went into the Plantain Garden 
River Valley, one of the richest and most beauti- 
ful savannahs in the island. It is an extensive 
plain, from one to three miles wide, and about 
six miles long. The Plantain Garden River, a 
small stream, winds through the midst of the 
valley lengthwise, emptying into the sea. Pass- 
ing through the valley, we went a few miles 
south of it to call on Alexander Barclay, Esq., to 
whom we had a letter of introduction. iVIr. Bar- 
clay is a prominent member of the assembly, and 
an attorney for eight estates. He made himself 
somewhat distinguished a few years ago by 
writing an octavo volume of five hundred pages 
in defence of the colonies, i. e., in defence of colo- 
nial slavery. It was a reply to Stephen's mas- 
terly work against West India slavery, and was 
considered by the Jamaicans a triumphant vindi- 
cation of their " peculiar institutions." We went 
several miles out of our route expressly to have 
an interview with so zealous and celebrated a 
champion of slavery. We were received with 
marked courtesy by Mr. B., who constrained us 
to spend a day and night with him at his seat at 
Fairfield. One of the first objects that met our 
eye in JMr. B.'s dining hall was a splendid piece 
of silver plate, v/hich was presented to him by the 
planters of St. Thomas in the East, in considera- 
tion of his able defence of colonial slavery. We 
were favorably impressed with Mr. B.'s intelli- 
gence, and somewhat so with his present senti- 
ments respecting slavery. We gathered from 
him that he had resisted with all his might the 
s-nti-slavery measures of the English government, 
and exerted every power to prevent the introduc- 
tion of the apprenticeship system. After he saw 
that slavery would inevitably be abolished, he 
di-w up at length a plan of emancipation accord- 
I.. ; ;o which the condition of the slave was to be 
commuted into that of the old English villein — 
he was to be made an appendage to the soil instead 
of the " chattel personal" of the master, the whip 
was to be partially abolished, a modicum of wages 
was to be allowed the slave, and so on. There 
was to be no fixed period when this system would 
terminate, but it was to fade gradually and im- 
perceptibly into entire freedom. He presented a 
copy of his scheme to the then governor, the Earl 
of Mulgrave, requesting that it might be forward- 
ed to the home government. Mr. B. said that 
the anti-slavery party in England had acted from 
the blind impulses of religious fanaticism, and 
had precipitated to its issue a work which required 
many years of silent preparation in order to its 
safe accomplishment. He intimated that the 
management of abolition ought to have been left 
with the colonists ; they had been the long expe- 
rienced managers of slavery, and they were the 
only men qualified to superintend its burial, and 
give it a decent interment. 

He did not think that the apprenticeship afiford- 
ed any clue to the dark mystery of 1840. Ap- 
prenticeship was so inconsiderably different from 



slavery, that it furnished no more satisfactory 
data for judging of the results of entire freedoni 
than slavery itself Neither would he consent tn 
be comforted by the actual results of emancipa- 
tion in Antigua. 

Taking leave of Mr. Barclay, we returned to 
the Plantain Garden River Valley, and called at 
the Golden Grove, one of the most splendid estates 
in that magnificent district. This is an estate of \ 
two thousand acres ; it has five hundred appren- 
tices and one hundred free children. The avurage 
annual crop is six hundred hogsheads of sugar. 
Thomas McCornock, Esq., the attorney of this 
estate, is the custos, or chief magistrate of the ■ 
parish, and colonel of the parish militia. There 
is no man in all the parish of greater consequence, 
either in fact or in seeming self-estimation, than 
Thomas McCornock, Esq. He is a Scotchman, ■ 
as is also Mr. Barclay. The custos received us 
with as much freedom as the dignity of his nu- > 
merous offices would admit of The overseer, 
(manager,) Mr. Duncan, is an intelligent, active, 
business man, and on any other estate than Gold- 
en Grove, would doubtless be a personage of con- 
siderable distinction. He conducted us through 
the numerous buildings, from the boiling-house 
to the pig-stye. The principal complaint of the 
overseer, was that he could not make the people 
work to any good purpose. They were not at 
all refractory or disobedient ; there was no diffi- 
culty in getting them on to the field ; but when 
they were there, they moved without any life or 
energy. They took no interest in their work, and 
he was obliged to be watching and scolding them 
all the time, or else they would do nothing. We 
had not gone many steps after this observation, 
before we met with a practical illustration of it. 
A number of the apprentices had been ordered 
that moi'ning to cart away some dirt to a particu- 
lar place. When we approached them, Mr. D. 
found that one of the " wains" was standing idle. 
He inquired of the driver why he was keeping 
the team idle. The reply was, that there was 
nothing there for it to do; there wei'e enough 
other wains to carry away all the dirt. " Then," 
inquired the overseer with an ill-concealed irrita- 
tion, " why did you not go to some other work 1" 
The overseer then turned to us and said, " You 
see, sir, what lazy dogs the apprentices are — this 
is the way they do every day, if they are not 
closely watched." It was not long after this 
little incident, before the overseer remarked that 
the apprentices worked very well during their 
own time, when they were paid for it. When we 
went into the hospital, Mr. D. directed our atten- 
tion to one fact, which to him was very provoking. 
A great portion of the patients that come in during 
the week, unable to work, are in the habit of get- 
ting well on Friday evening, so that they can go 
out on Saturday and Sunday ; but on Monday 
morning they are sure to be sick again, then they 
return to the hospital and remain very poorly till 
Friday evening, when they get well all at once, 
and ask permission to go out. The overseer saw , 
into the trick ; but he could find no medicine that 
could cure the negroes of that intermittent sick- 
ness. The Antigua planters discovered the 
remedy for it, and doubtless Mr. D. will make ih* 
grand discovery in 1840. 

On returning to the " great house," we found 
the custos sitting in state, ready to communicate 
any official information which might be called 
for. He expressed similar sentiments in the 
main, with those of Mr. Barclay. He feared for 



JAMAICA. 



37 



the consequences of complete emancipation ; the 
nesiroes would to a great extent abandon the 
sugar cultivation and retire to the woods, there to 
live in idleness, planting; merely yams enough to 
keep them alive, and in the process of time, retro- 
grading into African barbarism. The attorney 
did not see how it was possible to prevent this. 
"When asked whether he expected that such would 
the case with the negroes on Golden Grove, he 

plied that he did not think it would, except witli 

very few persons. His people had been so well 

eated, and had so raany comforts, that they 
Ivouid not be at all likely to abandon the estate ! 
Mark that!] Whose are the people that will 
esert after 18401 Not Thomas McCornock's, 
Esq. ! TAe?/ are too well situated. Whose then 
will desert 1 Mr. Joden's, or in other words, 
those who are ill-treated, who are cruelly driven, 
whose fences are broken down, and whose pro- 
vision grounds are exposed to the cattle. They, 
and I hey alone, will retire to the woods who can't 
get food any where else! 

The custos thought the apprentices were be- 
having very ill. On being asked if he had any 
trouble with his, ho said, O, no ! his apprentices 
did quite well, and so did the apprentices gener- 
ally, in the Plantain Garden River Valley. But 
in far off parislies, he heard that they were very 
refractory and troublesome. 

The custos testified that the negroes were very 
easily managed. He said he had often thought 
that lie would rather have the charge of six hun- 
dred negroes, than of two hundred English sailors. 
He spoke also of the temperate habits of the ne- 
groes. He had been in the island twenty-two 
years, and he had never seen a negro woman 
drunk, on the estate. It was very seldom that the 
men got drunk. There were not more than ten 
men on Golden Grove, out of a population of five 
hundred, who were in the habit of occasionally 
getting intoxicated. He also remarked that the 
negroes were a remarkable people for their atten- 
tion to the old and infirm among them ; they sel- 
dom suffered thern to want, if it was in their 
power to supply them. Among other remarks of 
the custos, was this sweeping declaration — " No 
man in his senses can pret^eiid to defend slarerij." 

After spending a day at Golden Grove, we pro- 
ceeded to the adjacent estate of Amity Hall. On 
enterihs: the residence of the manager, Mr. Kirk- 
land, we were most gratefully surprised to find 
him engaged in family prayers. It was the first 
time and the last that we heard the voice of prayer 
in a Jamaica planter's house. We were no less 
gratefully surprised to see a white lady, to whom 
we were introduced as Mrs. Kirkland, and several 
modest and lovely little children. It was the first 
and the last family circle that we were permitted 
to see among the planters of that licentious col- 
ony. The motley groups of colored children — 
of every age from tender infancy — which we 
found on other estates, revealed the state of do- 
mestic manners among the planters. 

Mr. K. regarded the abolition of slavery as a 
great blessing to the colony ; it was true that the 
apprenticeship was a wretchedly bad system, but 
notwithstanding, things moved smoothly on his 
estate. He informed us that the negroes on Ami- 
ty Hall had formerly borne the character of being 
the tuorst ffans; in the parish ; and when he first 
came to the estate, he found that half the truth 
had not been told of them ; but they had become 
remarkalily peaceable and subordinate. It was 
bis policy to give them every comfort that he 



possibly could. Mr. K. made the same declara* 
tion, which has been so often rept..ted in tlie 
course of this narrative, i. e., that if any of the 
estates were abandoned, it would be owing to 
the harsh treatment of the people. He knew many 
overseers and book-keepers who were cruel dri- 
ving men, and he should not be surprised i{ they 
lostapart, or all, of tlie'r laborers. He made one re- 
mark which we had not heard before. There were 
some estates, he said, which would probably be 
abandoned, for the same reason that they ought 
never to have been cultivated, because they re- 
quire almost double labor ; — such are the moun- 
tainous estates, and barren, worn-out properties, 
which nothing but a system of forced labor could 
possibly retain in cultivation. But the idea that 
the negroes generally would leave their comforta- 
ble homes, and various privileges on the estates, 
and retire to tlie wild woods, he ridiculed as pre- 
posterous in the extreme. Mr. K. declared re- 
peatedly that he could not look forward to 1840, 
but with the most sanguine hopes ; he confidently 
believed that the introduction of complete free^ 
dom woi\\d he the regeneration of the island. He 
alluded to the memorable declaration of Lord Bel- 
more, (made memorable by the excitement which 
it caused among the colonists,) in his valedictory 
address to the assembly, on the eve of his depart- 
ure for England.* " Gentlemen," said he, " the 
resources of- this noble island will never be fully 
developed until slavery is abolishei !" For this 
manly avowal the assembly ignobly refused him 
the usual marks of respect and honor at his de- 
parture. Mr. K. expected to see Jamaica become 
a new world under the enterprise and energies of 
freedom. There were a few disaffected planters, 
who would probably remain so, and leave the island 
after emancipation. It would be a blessing to the 
country if such men left it, for as long as they were 
disaffected, they were the enemies of its prosperity. 

Mr. K. conducted us through the negro quarters, 
which are situated on the hill side, nearly a mile 
from his residence. We went into several of the 
houses ; which were of a better style somewhat 
than the huts in Antigua and Barbadoes — larger, 
better finished and furnished. Some few of them 
had verandahs or porches on one or more sides, 
after the West India fashion, closed in with jal- 
ousies. In each of the houses to which we were 
admitted, there was one apartment fitted up in a 
very neat manner, with waxed floor, a good bed- 
stead, and snow white coverings, a few good 
chairs, a mahogany sideboard, ornamented with 
dishes, decanters, etc. 

From Amity Hall, we drove to Manchioneal, a 
small village ten miles north of the Plantain Gar- 
den River Valley. We had a letter to the special 
magistrate for that district, R. Chamberlain, Esq., 
a colored gentleman, and the first magistrate we 
found in the parish of St. Thomas in the East, 
who was faithful to the interests of the appren- 
tices. He was a boarder at the public house, 
where we were directed for lodgings, and as we 
spent a few days in the village, we had opportu- 
nities of obtainingmuch information from hirn,as 
well as of attending some of his courts. Mr. C, 
had been only five months in the district of Man- 
chioneal, having been removed thither from a dis- 
tant district. Being a friend of the apprentices, 
he is hated and persecuted by the planters. He 
gave us a gloomy picture of the oppressions and 
cruelties of the planters. Tlwir complaints 

' Lord Belmore left the government of Jamaica, a short 
time before the abolition act pasped in parliament. 



98 



JAMAICA. 



brought before him nre often of the most trivial 
Icind ; yet because he does not condemn the ap- 
prentices to re<-eive a punishment which the most 
serious oifences alone could justify him in inflict- 
ing, they revile and denounce him as unfit for his 
:>Statioa. He represents the planters as not having 
'the most distant idea that it is the province of the 
special magistrate to secure justice to ilie appren- 
tice ; but they regard it as his sole duty to help 
ihciii. in getting from the laborers as much work 
.IS Vvfhips, and chains, and tread-wheels cai ex- 
tort. His predecessor, in the Manchioneal dis- 
trict, answered perfectly to the planters' beau ideal. 
He ordered a cat to be kept on every estate in his 
district, to be ready for use as he went around on 
his weekly visits. ' Every week he inspected the 
cats, and when they became too much worn to do 
good execution, he condemned them, and ordered 
new ones to be made. 

Mr. C. said the most frequent complaints made 
by the planters are for insolence. He gave a few 
specimens of what were regarded by the planters 
as serious offences. An overseer will say to his 
apprentice, " Work along there faster, you lazy 
villain,: or I'll strike you;*^ the apprentice will re- 
■/ply, "Yon can't strike me now," and for this he 
life taken before the magistrate on the complaint of 
{insolence. An overseer, in passing the gang on 
the field, will hear them singing; he will order 
'tbem, in a peremptory tone to stop instantly, and 
if they corttinue singing, they are complained of 
for insubordiimtion. An apprentice has been 
confined to the hospital with disease,— when he 
gets able to walk, tired of the filthy sick house, he 
hobbles to his hut, where he may' have the atten- 
tioi s of his wife until he gets well. That is call- 
ed absconding from lahor ! Where the magis- 
trate does not happen to be an independent man, 
the complaint is sustained, and the poor invalid 
is sentenced to the treadmill for absenting himself 
from work. It is easy to conjecture the dreadful 
consequence. The apprentice, debilitat'>d by 
sickness, dragged off twenty-five miles on foot to 
Morant Bay, mounted on the wheel, is unable to 
keep the step with the strongpr ones, slips ofl^and 
hangs by the wrists, and his flesh is mangled and 
<torn by the wheel. 

's The apprentices frequently called at our lodg- 
ings to complain to Mr. C. of the hard treatment 
of their masters. Among the numerous distress- 
ing cases which we v/ifnessed, we shall never 
forget that of a poor little negi-o boy, of about 
•Owelve, who presented himself one afternoon be- 
fore Mr. C, with a complaint against his master 
>for violently bpating him. A gash was cut in his 
head, and the blood had flowed freely. He fled 
from his master, and came to Mr. C. for refuge. 
He belonged to A. Ross, Esq., of Mulatto Run 
estate. We retnembered that we had a letter of 
introduction to that planter, and we had designed 
visiUng him, but after witnessing this scenr-, we 
rpsolvod not to go near a monster who could' in- 
flict such a,wound. with his own hand, upon a 
child. We were highly eratifi^d with the kind 
and sympathizing mannpr in which Mr. C. spoke 
with the unfortunate beings who, in the extremity 
>;^flf their wrongs, ventured to h^s door. 

At the request of the magistrate we accompa- 
nied him, on one occasion, to the station-house, 
where he h-ld a v/eekly court. We had there a 
good opportunity to observe the hostile feelings 
of the planters tow-rds this fHitlifnI oflicer— 
"faithful among the faithless," (though we are 
giad that we cannot quite add, " only he.") 



A number of managers, overseers, and bcc " 
keepers, assembled ; some with complaints, a 
some to have their apprentices classified. Th > 
all set upon the magistrate like bloo.lhoundsup. 
a lone stag. They strove together wiiii one t, 
cord, to subdue his independent spirit by taum' 
jeers, msults, intimidations and buUyings. l' 
was obliged to threaten one of the overseers wii 
arrest, on account of his abusive conduct. ^^ 
were actually amazed at the intrepidity of tl 
magistrate. We were convinced from what \< 
saw that day, that only the most fearless and co 
scientious men could be faithful magistrates 
Jamaica. Mr. C. assured us that he met wi; 
similar indignities every time he held his court 
and on most of the estates that he visited. It w<i 
in his power to punish them severely, but ij 
chose to use all possible forbearance, so as not i 
give the planters any grounds of complaint. 

On a subsequent day we accompanied Mr. ,( 
in one of his estate visits. As it was late in th 
afternoon, be called at but one estate, the name 0( 
which was Williamsfield. Mr. Gordon, the over 
seer of Williamsfield, is among the fairest specij 
mens of planters. He has naiurally a generouj 
disposition, which, like that of Mr. Kirklano 
has out-lived the witherings of slavery. 

He informed us that his people worked as we 
under the apprenticeship system, as ever they dil 
during slavery ; and he had every encouragt 
ment that they would do still bett-r after thel 
were completely free. He was satisfied that hi 
should be able to conduct his estate at much les 
expense after 1840; he thought that fifty me 
would do as much then as a hundred do now, 
We may add here a similar remark of Mr. Kirk 
land— that forty freemen would accomplish a 
much as eighty slaves. Mr. Gordon hires hi 
people on Saturdays, and he expressed his astcn 
ishment at the increased vigor with which thei 
worked when they were to receive wages. H"' 
pointedly condemned the driving system whicl 
was resorted to by many of the planters. Thej 
foolishly endeavored to keep up the coercion ol 
slavery, and (hey had the special magistrates ini 
cessanlly flogging the apprentices. I'he planters' 
also not unfrequently take away the provisior 
grounds from their apprentices, and in every wa\ 
oppress and harass them. 

In the course of the conversation Mr. G. acci- 
dentally struck upon a fresh vein of facts, respect- 
ing the SL.AVERy op book-kkepers,* ^mder the old 
system. The book-keepers, said Mr. G., wereth] 
complete slaves of the overseers, who acted like: 
despots on the estates. They were mostly young 
men from England, and not unfrequently had 
considerable refinement; but ignorant of the treat- 
ment which book-keepers had to submit to, and 
allured by the prospect of becoming wealthy by 
plantership, they came to Jamaica and entered as 
candidates. They soon discovered the cruel 
bondaije in which they were involved. The over- 
seers domineered over them, and stormed at them 
as violently as though they were the most abject 
slaves. They were allowed no privileges such : 
as their former habits impelled them to seek. If 
they played a flute in tlie hearing of the overseer, 
they were commanded to be silentlnstantly. If they 
dared to put a gold ring on their finger, even that 
trifling pretension to gentility was detected and 
disallowed by the jealous overseer. (These things 

Tlie book-keepers are subordinate overseers and 
flriver.«; they are senerall)' .yniins wliite men, wlio after 
servin;^ a course of year;, in a sort of apprenticeship, 
are promoted to managers of estates. 



JAMAICA. 



!W 



were spccififd by Mr. G. himself.) They were 
seldom permitted lo associate with the overseers 
js equals. The only thing which reconciled the 
jook-keepers to tliis abject stale, was the reflec- 
ion that they might one day possibly become 
iverscers themselves, and then they could exercise 
,he same authority over others. In addition to 
his degradation, the book-keepers suffered great 
iiiidships. Every morning (during slavery) they 
Jere obliged to be in the field before day ; ihey 
lid to be there as soon as the slaves, in order to 
•jkll the roll, and mark absentees, if any. Often 
Mr. G. and the other gentleman had gone to the 
|eld, when it was so dark that they could not see 
,0 cfill the roll, and the negroes haveall lain down 
?n their hoes, and slept till the light broke. Some- 
imes there would be a thick dew on the ground, 
md the air was so cold and damp, that they would 
je completely chilled. When they were shiver- 
ing on the ground, the negroes would often lend 
them their blankets, saying, " Poor bnsha picka- 
ninnv sent out here from England to die." 
Mr. Gordon said that his constitution had been 
permanently injurpd by such exposure. Many 
young men, he said, had doubtless been killed by 
it. During croji time, the book-keepers had to be 
up every night till twelve o'clock, and every other 
mo\\X.alinis^ht, superintending the work in the boil- 
inl-house, and at the mill. They did not have rest 
even on the Sabbath ; they must have the mill put 
about (set to the wind so as to grind) by sunset 
every Sabbath. Often the mills were in the wind 
before four o'clock, on Sabbath afternoon. They 
knew of slaves being flogged for not being on 
the spot by sunset, though it was known that they 
had been to meeting. Mr. G. said that he had a 
young friend who came from England with him, 
l\nd acted as book-keeper. His labors and expo- 
sures were so intolerable, that he had often said to 
Mr. G., confidentially, that if the slaves should rise 
in rebellion, he trouid viost' cheerfully join them! 
Said Mr. G., there VMS great re jpicinsr among the 
book-keepers in Augus't, 1834 ! The abolition of 
davcrywas emancipation to the book-keepf.rs. 

No complaints were brought before Mr. Cham- 
berlain. Mr. Gordon pleasantly remarked when 
we arrived, that he had some cases which he 
should have presented if the magistrate had come 
a little earlier, but he presumed he should forget 
them before his next visit. When we left Wil- 
liamsfield. Mr. C. informed us that during five 
months there had been but two cases of complaint 
on that estate — and but a single instance of pun- 
ishment. Such are the rpsults where there is a 
good manager and a good special magistrate. 

On Sabbath we attended service in the Baptist 
'-.hapel, of which Rev. Mr. Kingdon is pastor. 
The chapel, which is a part of Mr. K.'s dwell- 
iing house, is situated on the summit of a high 
mountain which overlooks the sea. As seen from 
the valley below, it appears to topple on the very 
brink of a frightful precipice. It is reached by a 
winding tedious road, too rugged to admit of a 
chaise, and in some places so sleep as to try the 
activity of a horse. As we approached nearer, 
we observed the people climbing up in throngs by 
various footpaths, and halting in the thick woods 
which skirted the chapel, the men to put on their 
shoes, which they had carried in their hands up 
the mountain, and the women to draw on their 
while stockings and shoes. On entering the place 
of worship, we found it well filled with the ap- 
prentices, who came from many miles around in 
every direction. The services had commenced 



when we arrived. We heard an excellent serpiou 
from the devoted and pious missionary, Mr. 
Kingdon, whose praise is among all the good 
throughout the island, and who is eminently 
known as the negro's friend. After the sermon, 
we were invited to make a few remarks ; and the 
minister briefly stated to the congregation whence 
we had come, and what was the object of our visit. 
We cannot soon forget the scene which folio v.-- 
ed. We begun by expressing, in simple terms, the 
interest which we felt in the temporal and spiriit;- 
al concerns of the people present, and scarcely had 
we uttered a sentence when the whole congrega- 
tion were filled with emotion. Soon they bm-st 
into tears— some sobbed, others critd aloud; inso- 
much that for a time we were unable to proceed. 
We were, indeed, not a little astonished at so un- 
usual a scene; it was a thing which we were uy 
no means expecting to see. Being at a loss lo ac- 
count for It, we inquired of Mr. K. afterwards, 
who told us that it was occasioned by our 
expressions of sympathy and regard. They 
were so unaccustomed to hear .such language 
from the lips of white people, that it fell upon 
them like rain upon the paixhed earth. The idea 
that one who was a stranger and a foreigner 
should feel an interest in their welfare, was to 
them, in such circumstances, peculiarly aflecting, 
and stirred the deep fountains of their liearts. :.i 

After the services, the missionary, anxious it» 
furtlier our objects, proposed that we should hold 
an interview with a nunnber cf the apprentices; 
and he accordingly invited fifteen of them into his 
study, and introduced them to us by name, stating 
also the estates to which they severally belonged. 
We had thus an opportunity of seeing the repre- 
sentatives of tieclve different estates, men of trust 
on their respective estates, mostly constables and 
head boilers. For nearly two hours we conversed 
with these men, making inquiries on all points 
connected with slavery, the apprenticeship, and 
the expected emancipation. 

From no interview, during our stay in the col- 
onies, did we derive so much information respect- 
ing the real workings of the apprenticeship; from 
none did we gain such an insight into the charac- 
ter and disposition of the negroes. The company 
was composed of intelligent and pious men ; — so 
manly and dignified were they in appearance, 
and so elevated'in their sentiments, that we could 
with difficulty realize that they were slaves. They 
were wholly unreserved in their communications, 
though they deeply implicated their masters, the 
special magistrates, and others in authority. It 
is not improbable that they would have shrunk 
from some of the disclosures which they made, 
had they known that they would be published. 
Nevertheless we feel assured that in making them 
public, we shall not betray the informants, con- 
cealing as we do their names and the estates to 
which they belong. 

With regard to the wrongs and hardships of 
the apprenticeship Bfiych was said i we can only 
give a small part. ,^,1 7[,i-,,!l -<i v/ • /< 

Their masters were often very harsh with them, 
more so than when they were slaves. They could 
not flog them, but they would scold them, and 
swear at them, and call them hard names, which 
hurt their feelings almost as much as it would if 
they were to flog them. They would not allow 
them as many privileges as they did formerly. 
Sometimes they would take their provision 
grounds away, and sometimes they would go on 
their grounds and carry away provisions for their 



100 



JAMAICA. 



own use without paying for them, or so much as 
asking their leave. They had to bear this, for it 
was useless to complain—they could get no jus- 
tice; there was no law in Manchionsal. The 
special magistrate would only hear the master, 
and would not allow the apprentices to say any 
thing for themselves.* The magistrate would do 
just as the busha (master) said. If he say flog 
him, he ilog him ; if he say, send him to Morant 
Bay, (to the treadmill,) ds magistrate send him. 
If we happen to laugh before de busha, he com- 
plain to de magistrate, and we get licked. If we 
go to a friend's house, when we hungry, to get 
something to eat, and happen to get lost in de 
woods between, we are called runaways, and are 
punished severely. Our half Friday is taken 
away from us; we must give that time to busha 
for a little salt-fish, which was always allowed us 
during slavery. If we lay in bed after six o'clock, 
they take away our Saturday too. If we lose a 
littie time from work, they make us pay a great 
deal more time. They stated, and so did several 
of the missionaries, that the loss of the half Fri- 
day was very serious to them, as it often render- 
ed it impossible for them to get to meeting on 
Sunday. The whole work of cultivating their 
grounds, preparing their produce for sale, carry- 
ing it to the distant market, (IVIorant Bay, and 
sometimes further,) and returning, all this was, by 
the loss of the Friday afternoon, crowded into 
Saturday, and it was often impossible for them 
to get back from market before Sabbath morn- 
ing; then they had to dress and go six or ten 
miles further to chapel, or stay away altogether, 
which, from weariness and worldly cares, they 
would be strongly tempted to do. This they rep- 
resented as being a grievous thing to them. Said 
one of the men, in a peculiarly solemn and ear- 
nest manner, while tlie tears stood in his eyes, " I 
declare to you, inassa, if de Lord spare we to be 
free, we be much more 'ligious — -we be wise to 
many more Lings ; we be better Christians ; be- 
cause den we have all de Sunday for go to meet- 
ing. But now de holy time taken up in work for 
we food." These words were deeply impressed 
upon us by the intense earnestness with which 
they were spoken. They revealed " the heart's 
own bitterness." There was also a lighting up 
of joy and hope in the countenance of that child 
of God, as he looked forward to the time when he 
might become wise to many more tins^s 

They gave a heart-sickening account of the 
cruelties of the treadmill. They spoke of the ap- 
prentices having their wrists tied to the hand- 
board, and said it was very common for them to 
fall and hang against the wheel. Some who had 
been sent to the^readmill, had actually died from 
the injuries they there received. They were often 
obliged to see their wives dragged off to Morant 
Bay, and tied to the treadmill, even when they 
were in a state of pregnancy. ' They suffered a 
great deal of misery from that; but they could not 
help it. '■••■ 

Sometimes'it was a wonder to themselves how 
they could endure all tlie provocations and suffer- 
ings of the apprenticeship; it was only ''by de 
mercy of God!" ''i' 

They were asltfed why they did not complain 
to the special magistrates. They replied, that it 
did no eood, for the magistrates would not take 
rny notice of their complaints, besides, it made 

* We wnnM ob.serve, that they rlid not vpfer to Mr. 
Oliaiubcrlaiii, but to another masistrate, v.'hose name 
thoy irreniioned 



the masters treat them still worse. Said one 
" We go to de magistrate to complain, and del 
when wc come back de busha do all him can u 
vex us. He wingle (tease) us, and wingle us ; d( 
book-keeper curse us and treaten us; de" constable 
he scold us, and call hard names, and dey al 
strive to make we mad, so wc say someting 
wrong, and den dey take we to de magistrate fo'i 
insolence." Such was the final consequence of 
complaining to the magistrate. We asKed them 
why they did not complain, when they had o 
good magistrate who would do them justice 
Their answer revealed a new fact. They were 
afraid to complain to a magistrate, who they knew 
was their friend, because their masters told then\ 
that the magistrate ivoidd soon be changed, a^iS 
another luovld come who would flog them ; and thai 
for every time they dared to complain to the 
GOOD magistral c, they would be flogged when the 
BAD one came. They said their masters had ex-i 
plained it all to them long ago. 

We inquired of them particularly what course 
they intended to take when they should become 
free. We requested them to speak, not only withi 
reference to themselves, but of the apprentices 
generally, as far as they knew their views. They 
said the apprentices expected to work on the 
estates, if they were allowed to do so. They hadi 
no intention of leaving work. Nothing wouldi 
cause them to leave their estates but bad treat- 
ment ; if their masters were harsh, they would go 
to another estate, where they would get better 
treatment. They would be obliged to work when 
they were free ; even more than now, for /Ae?j they 
would have no other dependence. 

One tried to prove to us by reasoning, that the 
people would work when they were free. Said 
he, " In slavery time we work even wid de whip, 
now we work 'till better — ivhat tink we loill do 
when we free ? Won't we work den, ichen we get 
paid?" He appealed to us so earnestly, that we 
could not help acknowledging we were fully con- 
vinced. However, in order to establish the point 
still more clearly, he stated some facts, such as 
the following : 

During slavery, it took six men to tend the cop- 
pers in boiling sugar, and it was thought thai 
fewer could not possibly do the work ; but now, 



since the boilers are paid for their extra time, th 
woik is monopolized 
not hare any help ; th 
might get all depay. 



woik is monopolized by three men. They woulq 
not hare any help; they did all the work " dat de. 



We sounded them thoroughly on their vielS" 
of law and freedom. We inquired whether the 
expected to be allowed to do as they pleased whe 
they were free. On this subject they spoke ver 
rationally. Said one, " We could never live wic 
out de law ; (we use his very expi-essions) w 
must have some law when we free. In othe 
countries, where dey are free, donH dey have law 
Wouldn't dey shoot one another if they did no 
have law 1" Thus they reasoned about freedom/ 
Their chief complaint against the apprenticeshi]' 
was, that it did not allow them justice. " Ther^ 
was no lavj noiv." They had been told by Ihi 
governor, that there was the same law for all th< 
island ; but they knew better, for there was mon 
justice done them in some districts than in others 

Some of their expressions indicated very strong- 
ly the characteristic kindness of the negro. They 
would sa]', we work now as well as we can for 
the sake of peace ; any thing for peoxe. Don't 
want to be complained of to the magistrate; don't 
like to be called hard names — do any thing Xa 



JAMAICA. 



101 



(-^^p peace. Such expressions were repeatedly 
r ade. We asked them what ihey tlioughi of the 
u uiestics being emancipated in 1838, while they 
ii.-^.d to remain apprentices two years longer 1 
They said, " it bad cnougii — but we knuw de law 
make it so, and for peace sale, wc will be satisfy. 
But we murrmcr in we 'minds." 

We asked what they expected to do with the 
lid and infirm, after freedom 1 They said, " we 
A'ill support dem — as how dey brought us up 
when we was pickaiiinny, and now we come 
rong, must care for dem." In such a spirit did 
these apprentices discourse for two hours. They 
won greatly upon our sympathy and respect. 
The toucliing story of their wrongs, the artless 
anbosoming of their hopes, their forgiving spirit 
.oward their masters, their distinct views of their 
iv/n rights, their amiable bearing urider provoca- 
ion, their just notions of law, and of a state of 
Veedom — these things were well calculated to ex- 
•-ite our admiration for them, and their compan- 
otis in suffering. Having prayed with the com- 
pany, and commended them to the grace of God, 
and the salvation of Jesus Christ, we shook hands 
.vith them individually, and separated from them, 
never more to see them, until we meet at the bar 
)f God. 

While one of us was prosecuting the foregoing 
nquiries in St. Thomas in the East, the other was 
)erforming a horse-back tour among the moun- 
ains of St. Andrews and Port Royal. We had 
3een invited by Stephen Bourne, Esq., special 
Tiagistrate for one of the rural districts in those 
Darishes, to spend a week in his family, and ac- 
company him in his official visits to the planta- 
tions embraced in his commission — an invitation 
we were very glad to accept, as it laid open to us 
at tne same time three important sources of in- 
formation, — the magistrate, the planter, and the 
apprentice. 

The sun was just rising as we left Kingston, 
and entered the high road. The air, which the 
day before had been painfully hot and stived, was 
cool and fresh, and from flowers and spice-trees, 
on which the dew still lay, went forth a thousand 
fragrant exhalations. Our course for about six 
miles, lay over the broad, low plain, which spreads 
around Kingston, westward to the highlands of 
St. Andrews, and southward beyond Spanish- 
town. All along the road, and in various direc- 
tions in the distance, were seen the residences — 
uncouthly termed ' pens' — of merchants and 
gentlemen of wealth, whose business frequently 
calls them to town. Unlike Barbadoes, the 
fields here were protected by walls and hedges, 
with broad gateways and avenues leading to the 
house. We soon began to meet here and there, 
at intervals, persons going to the market with 
fruits and provisions. The number contin- 
ually increased, and at the end of an hour, they 
could be seen trudging over the fields, and along 
the by-paths and roads, on every hand. Some 
had a couple of stunted donkeys yoked to a rick- 
etty cart,— others had mules with pack-saddles— 
but the many loaded their own heads, instead of 
the donkeys and mules. Most of them were well 
dressed, and all civil and respectful in their con- 
duct. 

Invigorated by the mountain air, and animated 
by the novelty and grandeur of the mountain 
scenery, through which "we had passed, we ar- 
rived at ' Grecian Regale' in season for an early 
West Indian breakfast, (8 o'clock.") Mr. Bourne's 
district, is entirely composed of coffee plantations. 



and embraces three thousand apprentices. The 
people on coffee plantations are not worked 
so hard as those employed on sugar estates ; but 
they are more liable to suffer from insufficient food 
and clothing. 

After breakfast we accompanied Mr. Bourne 
on a visit to the plantations, but there were no 
complaints either from tl-3 master or apprentice, 
cxce]U on one. Here I>,Ir. B. was hailed by a 
hoary-headed man, sitting at the side of his house. 
He said that he was lame and sick, and could not 
work, and complained that his master did not give 
him any food. All he had to eat was given him 
by a relative. As the master was not at home, 
Mr. B. could not attend to the complaint at that 
time, but promised to write the master about it 
in the course of the day. He informed us that 
the aged and disabled were very much neglected 
under the apprenticeship. When the working 
days are over, the profit days are over, and how 
few in any country are willing to support an 
animal which is past labor 1 If these complaints 
are numerous under the new system, when magis- 
trates are all abroad to remedy them, what must 
it have been during slavery, when ma^t,er, , and 
magistrate were the same ! ■[■ ' ,^,,f,r,„>;. 

On one of the plantations we called at the house 
of an emigrant, of whicli some hvmdreds have 
been imported from different parts of Europe, 
since emancipation. He had been in the island 
eighteen months, and v/as much dissatisfied with 
his situation. The experiment of importing 
whites to Jamaica as laborers, has proved disas- 
trous — an unfortunate speculation to all parties, 
and all parties wish them back again. 

We had some conversation with several ap- 
prentices, who called on Mr. Bourne for advice 
and aid. They all thought the apprenticeship 
very hard, but still, on the whole, liked it better 
than .slavery. They '.' were killed too bad," — that 
was their expression — during slavery — were work- 
ed hard and terribly flogged. They were up ever 
so early and late — went out in the mountains to 
work, when so cold busha would have to cover 
himself up on the ground. Had little time to eat, 
or go to meeting. 'Twas all slash, slash ! Now 
they couldn't be flogged, unless the magistrate 
said so. Still the busha was very hard to them, 
and many of the apprentices run away to the 
woods, they are so badly used. 

The next plantation which we visited was 
Dublin Castle. It lies in a deep valley, quite en- 
closed by mountains. The present attorney has 
been in the island nine year% and is attorney for 
several other properties. In England he was a 
religious man, and intimately acquainted with 
the eccemric Irving. For a while after he came 
out he preached t(8«the slaves, but having taken a 
black concubine, and treating those under his 
charge oppressively, he sooi7 obtained a bad cha- 
racter among the blacks, and his meetings were 
deserted. He is now a most passionate and wick- 
ed man, having cast off even the showof leligioii. 
Mr. B. visited Dublin Castle a few weeks since, 
and spent two days in hearing complaints brought 
against the manager and book-keeper by the ap- 
prentices. He fined the manager, for different 
acts of oppression, one hundred and eight dollars. 
The attorney was present during tiie whole time. 
Near the close of the second day he requested per- 
mission to say a few words, which was granted. 
He raised his hands and eyes in the most agonized 
manner, as though passion was writhing within, 
and burst forth — " O, my God I my God ! koA it 



102 



JAMAICA 



indeed come to this ! Am I to be arraigned in this 
way ■? Is my conduct to be questioned by these 
people 1 Is my authority to be destroyed by the 
interference of strangers'! O, my God !" And 
he fell back into the arms of his book-keeper, and 
was carried out of the room in convulsions. 

The next morning we started on another excur- 
sion, for the purpose of attending the appraise- 
ment of an apprentice belonging to Silver Hill, a 
plantation about ten miles distant from Grecian 
Regale. We rode but a short distance in the 
town road, wlien we struck off into a narrow de- 
file by a mule-path, and pushed into the very heart 
of the mountains. 

We felt somewhat timid at the commencement 
of our excursion among these minor Andes, but 
we gained confidence as we proceeded, and finding 
our horse sure-footed and quite familiar with moun. 
tain paths, we soon learned to gallop, without 
fear, along the highest cliffs, and through the most 
dangerous passes. We were once put in some 
jeopardy by a drove of mules, laden with coffee. 
We fortunately saw them, as they came round the 
point of a hill, at some distance, in season to se- 
cure ourselves in a little recess v.l;ere the path 
widened. On they came, cheered by the loud cries 
of their drivers, and passed rapidly forward, one 
after another, with the headlong stupidity which 
animals, claiming more wisdom than quadrupeds, 
not unfrequently manifest. When they came up 
to us, however, they showed that they were not 
unaccustomed to such encounters, and, although 
the space between us and the brow of the preci- 
pice, was not three feet wide, they all contrived to 
sway their bodies and heavy sacks in such a man- 
ner as to pass us safely, except one. He, more 
stupid or more unlucky than the rest, struck us a 
full broad-side as he went by jolting us hard 
against the hill, and well-nigh jolting himself 
down the craggy descent into the abyss below. 
One leg hung a moment over the precipice, but 
the poor beast suddenly threw his whole weight 
forward, and by a desperate leap, obtained sure 
foothold in the path, and again trudged along 
with his coffee-bags. 

On our way we called at two plantations, but 
found no complaints. At one of them we had 
some conversation with the overseer. He has on 
it one hundred and thirty apprentices, and pro- 
duces annually thirty thousand pounds of coffee. 
He informed us that he was getting along well. 
His people are industrious and obedient, as much 
so, to say the least, as under the o'd system. The 
crop this year is not so great as usual, on account 
of the severe drought. His plantation was never 
better cultivated. Besides the one> hundred and 
thirty apprentices, there are forty free •children, 
who are supported by their Jiferents. INone of 
them will work for hire, crt^n any way put them- 
selves under his corttrol, as the parents fear there 
is some plot laid for making them~apprentices, 
and through that process reducing them to slavery. 
He tlnnks this f-eling will cominue till the ap- 
prenticeship is entirely broken up, and the people 
feegin to feel assured of complete freedom, when 
it will disinpfar. 

We readied Silver Hill about noon. This 
plantation contains one hundred and ten appren- 
tices, and is under the management of a colored 
man, who has had charge of it seven years. He 
informed us that it was under as :^ood cultivation 
flow as it was before einancipation. His people 
are easily controlled. Very much depends on the 
conduct of the overseer. If he is disposed to be 



just and kind, tne apprentices are sure tc betiave 
well ; if he is harsh and severe, and attempts to 
drive them, they will lake no pains lo jilease him, 
but on the contrary, will be sulky and obstinate. 

There were three overseers from other estates 
present. One of them had been an overseer for 
forty years, and he possessed the looks and feel- 
ings which we suppose a man who has been thu.s 
long in a school of despotism, must possess. He 
had a giant form, which seemed to be breakn.c 
down with luxury and sensualism. His ordina- 
ry voice was hoarse and gusty, and his smiie dia- 
bolical. Emancipation had swept away his power 
while it left the love of it ravaging his heart. He 
could not speak of the new system with compo- 
sure. His contempt and hatred of the negro was 
unadulterated. He spoke of the apprentices with 
great bitternesi, They were excessively lazy and 
impudent, and were becoming more and more so 
every dSy. They did not do half the work now 
that they did before emancipation. It was the 
character of the negro never to work unless com- 
pelled. His people would not labor tor him an 
hour in their own time, although he had offered to 
pay them for it. They have not the least grati- 
tude. They will leave him in the midst of his 
crop, and help others, because they can get a little 
more. They spend all their half Fridays and 
their Saturdays on other plantations where they 
receive forty cents a day. Twenty-five cents 
is enough for them, and is as much as he will 
give. 

Mr. B. requested the Overseer to bring forward 
his complaints. He had only two. One was 
against a boy of ten for stealing a gill of goat's 
milk. The charge was disproved. The other 
was against a boy of twelve for neglecting the 
cattle, and permitting them to trespass on the lands 
of a neighbor. He was sentenced to receive a 
good switching — that is, to be beaten with a small 
stick by the constable of the plantation. 

Several apprentices then appeared and made a 
few trivial complaints against ' buslia.' They 
were quickly adjusted. These were all the com- 
plaints that had accumulated in five weeks. 

I'he principal business which called Mr. Bourne 
to the plantation, as we have already remarked, 
was the appraisement of an apprentice. The 
appraisers were himself and a local magistrate. 
The apprentice was a native born African, and was 
stolen from his country when a boy. He had al- 
ways resided on this plantation, and had always 
been a faithful laborer. He was now the con- 
stable, or driver, as the office was called in slaveiy 
times, of the second gang. The overseer testified 
lo his honesty and industry, and said he regretted 
much to have him leave. He was, as appeared 
by the plantation books, fifty-four years old, but 
was evidently above sixty. After examining 
several witnesses as to the old man's ability and 
general health, and making calculations by the 
rule of three, with the cold accuracy of a yankec 
horse-bargain, it was decided that his servicer 
were worth to the plantation forty-eight dollars ; 
year, and for the remaining time of the apprer 
ticeship, consequently, at that rate, one hundre<' 
and fifty-six dollars. One third of this was dc ■ 
ducted as an allowance for the probabilities (,.' 
death, and sickness, having one hundred and fou 
dollars as the price of his redemption. The oi 
man objected strongly and earnestly to the price 
he said, it was too much ; he had not money 
enough to pay it ; and begged them, with tears ir 
his eyes, not to make him pay so much " for hi? 



JAMAICA, 



103 



old bones ;" but they would not remit a cent. They 
could not. T'ley w^re the stern ministers of the 
British eaiancipatiaii law, tlie piais-s of which 
have been sliouied through the earth ! 

Of the three overseers who where present, not 
one could be called a respectable man. Their 
countenances were the mirrors of all lustful and 
desperate passions. They .were continually drink- 
ing rum and water, andoneof them was half drunk. 

Our next visit svas to an elevated plantation 
called Peter's Rock. The path to it was, in one 
place, so steep, that we liad to dismount and ])er- 
mil our horses to work their way up as they could, 
while we followed on foot. We then wound 
alonj among provision grounds and coffee fields, 
tiirou!i:h forests wiiere iiardiy a track was to be 
seen, and over hedges, wincli the horses were 
obhged to leap, till we issued on the great path 
which leads from the plantation to Kingston. 

Peter's Rock has one hundred apprentices, and 
is under the management, as Mr. Bourne informed 
us, of a very humane man. During the two 
years and a half of the apprenticeship, there had 

■ been only six complaints. As we approached the 
plantation we saw the apprentices at the side of 
the road, eating their breakfast. They had been 

tit work some distance froin their houses, and 
could not spend time to go home. They saluted 
us with great civility, most of them rising and 
uncovering their heads. In answer to our ques- 
tions, they said they were getting along very well. 
They said their master was kind to them, and 
they appeared in fine spirits. 

The overseer met us as we rode up to the door, 
and received us very courteously. He had no com- 
plaints. He informed us that the plantation was 
as well cultivated as it had been for many years, 
md the people were perfectly obedient and indus- 
trious. 

From Peter's Rock we rode to " Hall's Pros- 
pect," a plantation on which there are sixty ap- 
prentices under the charge of a black overseer, 
who, two years ago, was a slave. It was five 
weeks since Mr. B. had been there, and yet he 
liad only ime complaint, and that against a woman 
for being late at work on Monday morning. The 
reason she gave for this was, that she went to an 
estate some miles distant to spend the Sabbath 
with ''er husband. 

M'-. Boucne, by the aid of funds left in his 

banrin by Mr. Siurge, is about to establish a 

scho'il on this plantation. Mr. B., at a previous 

vi?i', hid informed the people of what he intended 

to do, a, i<l asked their co-operation. As snon as 

tbjy saw liim to-day, several of them imiiied lately 

inquired .nbout the school, when it would begin, 

&c. They showed the greatest eagerness and 

thankfulness. Mr. B. told them he should send 

a teacher as soon as a house was prepared. He 

h.!d been talking with their master (the attorney 

of the plamation') about fi.xing one, who had of- 

"• fered them the ola " lock-up house," if they would 

, put it in ordar. There was a murmur among 

rthem at this annunciation. At length one of the 

■men said, they did not want the school to be held 

;. in the " Icck-up house." It was not a ffood place 

■: for their " pickaninnies" to go to. Tin^y had much 

l.rather have some other building, and would be 

uglad to have it close to their houses. Mr. B. told 

'ithem if they would put up a small house near 

■ their own, he would furnish it with desks and 

■ benches. To this they all assented with great 

< joy- 
On our way home we saw, as we did on var> 



ou.s other occasions, many of the apprentices with 
hoes, baskets, &.C., going to their pro vision grounds. 
We had »Oiiie con v ■..•,■.-,,>; i^^ii v.';iii l;i, ru as We i'wuo 
along. 1'hey said they hud been iij luc holds 
picking coffee since half past five o'clock. They 
were now going, as they always did after "horn- 
blow" in tiie afternoon, (four o'clock,) to their 
grounds, where they should stay till dai'k. Some 
of their grounds were four, others six miles from 
home. Tliey all liked the apprenticeship better 
than slavery. They were not flogged so much 
now, and had more time to themselves. Bui they 
should like freedom much better, and should be 
glad when it came. 

We met a brown young woman driving an ass 
laden with a great variety of articles. She said 
she hud been io Kingston (fifteen miles off) with 
a load of provisions, and had purchased some 
tilings to sell to the apprentices. We asked her 
what she did with her money. " Give it tu my 
husband," said siie. " Do you keep none for 
yourself 1" She smiled and replied : " What for 
him for me." 

After we had passed, Mr. B. informed us that 
she had been an apprentice, but purchased her 
freedom a few months previous, and was now 
engaged as a kind of country merchant,^ She 
purchases i^rovisions of the negroes, and carries 
them to Kingston, where she exchanges them, for 
pins, needles, thread, dry goods, and such articles 
as the apprentices need, which she again ex- 
changes for provisions and money. 

Mr. Bourne informed us that real estate is much 
higher than before emancipation. He mentioned 
one " pen" which was purchased for eighteen 
hundred dollars a few years since. The owner 
had received nine hundred dollars as ' compensa- 
tion' for freedom. It Inis lately been leas^d for 
seven years by the owner, for nine hundred dol- 
lars per year. 

A gentleman who owns a plantation in Mr. 
B.'s district, sold parcels of land to the negroes 
before emancipation at five shillings per acre. 
He now obtains twenty-seven shillings per acre. 

The house in which Mr. B. resides was rented 
in 1833 for one hundred and fifty dollars. Mr. B, 
engaged it on his arrival for three years, at two 
hundred and forty dollars per year. His land- 
lord informed him a few days since, that on the 
expiration of his present lease, he should raise the 
rent to three hundred and thirty dollars. 

Mr. B. is acquainted with a gentleman of wealtli, 
who has been endeavoring for the last twelve 
months to purchase an estate in this island. He 
has offered high prices, but has as yet been un- 
able to obtain one. Landholders have so much 
confidence in the value and security of real estate, 
that they do not wish to part with it< 

After our visit to Silver Hill, our attention was 
particularly turned to the conditioa of the negi-o 
grounds. Most of them were very clean and 
flourisliing. Large plats of the onion, of cocoa, 
plantain, banana, yam, potatoc, and other tropic 
vegetables, were scattered all around within five 
or six miles of a plantation. We were much 
pleased with the appearance of tliem during a 
ride on a Friday. In the forenooD, ihey had all 
been vacant; not a person was to be seen in 
them ; but after one o'cloiik, they began gradually 
lo be occupied, till, at t,he end of an hour, where- 
ever we went, we saw me», women, and enildien 
laboring industriously in their little gardens. Ii 
some places, the hiils to their very summits wciij 
spotted with cultivation. Till Monday morning 



101 



JAMAICA. 



the apprentices were free, and they certainly mani- 
fested a stron» disposition to spend that time in 
taking care of themselves. The testimony of the 
numerous apprentices with whom we conversed, 
was to the same effect as our observation. They 
all testified that they were paying as much atten- 
tion to their grounds as they ever did, but that 
their provisions had been cut short by the drought. 
They had their land all prepared for a new crop, 
and were only waiting for rain to put in the seed. 
Mr. Bourne corroborated their statement, and re- 
marked, that he never found the least difficulty in 
procuring laborers. Could he have the possession 
of the largest plantation in the island to-day, he 
had no doubt that, within a week, he could pro- 
cure free laborers enough to cultivate every acre. 

On one occasion, while among the mountains, 
we were impressed on a jury to sit in inquest on 
the body of a negro woman found dead on the 
high i-oad. She was, as appeared in evidence, 
on her return from the house of correction, at 
Half- Way- Tree, where she had been sentenced 
for fourteen days, and been put on the treadmill. 
She had complained to some of her acquaintances 
of harsh treatment there, and said they had killed 
her, and that if she ever lived to reach home, she 
should tell ail her massa's negroes never to cross 
the threshold of Half-Way-Tree, as it would kill 
them. The evidence, however, was not clear that 
she died in consequence of such treatment, and the 
jury, accordingly, decided that she came to her 
death by some cause unknown to them. 

Nine of the jury were overseers, and if they, 
collected together indiscriminately on this occa- 
sion, were a specimen of those who have charge 
of the apprentices in this island, they must be 
most degraded and brutal men. They appeared 
more under the influence of low passions, more 
degraded by sensuality, and but little more intel- 
ligent, than the negroes themselves. Instead of 
possessing irresponsible power over their fellows, 
they ought themselves to be under the power of 
the most strict and energetic laws. Our visits to 
the plantations, and inquiries on this point, con- 
firmed this opinion. They are the ' feculum' of 
Europeaii society — ignorant, passionate, licen- 
tious. We do them no injustice when we say 
this, nor when we further add, that the appren- 
tices suffer in a hundred ways which the law 
cannot reach, gross insults and oppression from 
their excessive rapaciousness and lust. What 
must it have been during slavery 1 

We had some conversation with Clieny Hamil- 
ton, Esq., one of the special magistrates for Port 
Royal. He is a colored man, and has held his 
office about eighteen months. There are three 
thousand apprentices in his district, which em- 
braces sugar and coffee estates. The complaints 
are few and of a very trivial nature They mostly 
originate with the planters. Most of the cases 
brought before him are for petty tteft and absence 
from work. 

In his district, cultivation was never better. 
The negroes are willing to w jrk during their 
own time. His father-in-law is clearing up some 
mountain land for a coffee plant ition, by the labor 
of apprentices from neighboring estates. The 
seasons since emancipation ha-e been bad. The 
blacks cultivate their own grounds on their half 
Fridays and Saturdays, unless they can obtain 
employment from others. 

Nothing is doing by the planters for the educa- 
tion of the apprentices. Their only object is to 
get as much work out of them as possible. 



The blacks, so far as he has had opportunity 
to observe, are in every respect as quiet and in- 
dustrious as they were before freedom. He said 
if we would compare the character of the com- 
plaints brought by the overseers and apprentices 
against each other, we should see for ourselves 
which party was the most peaceable and law- 
abiding. 

To these views we may here add those of 
another gentleman, with whom we had consider- 
able conversation about the same time. He is a 
proprietor and local magistrate, and was repre- 
sented to us as a kind and humane man. Mr. 
Bourne stated to us that he had not had six cases 
of complaint on his plantation for the last twelve 
months. We give his most important statements 
in the following brief items: 

1. He has had charge of estates in Jamaica 
since 1804. At one time he had twelve hundred 
negroes under his control. He now owns a coffee 
plantation, on which there are one hundred and 
ten apprentices, and is also attorney for several 
others, the owners of which reside out of the 
island. 

2. His plantation is well cultivated and clean, 
and his people are as industrious and civil as they 
ever were. He employs them during their own 
time, and always finds them willing to work for 
him, unless their own grounds require their attend- 
ance. Cultivation generally, through the island, 
is as good as it ever was. Many of the planters, 
at the commencement of the apprenticeship, re- 
duced the quantity of land cultivated ; he did not 
do so, but on the contrary is extending his planta- 
tion. 

3. The crops this year are not so good as usual. 
This is no fault of the apprentices, but is owing 
to the bad season. 

4. The conduct of the apprentices depends very 
much on the conduct of those who have charge 
of them. If you find a plantation on which the 
overseer is kind, and does common justice to the 
laborer, you will find things going on well — if 
otherwise, the reverse. Those estates and planta- 
tions on which the proprietor himself resides, are 
most peaceable and prosperous. ' 

5. Real estate is more valuable than before 
emancipation. Property is more secure, and 
capitalists are more ready to invest their funds. 

6. The result of 1840 is as yet doubtful. For 
his part, he has no fears. He doubts not he can 
cultivate his plantation as easily after that period 
as before. He is confident he can do it cheaper. 
He thinks it not only likely, but certain, that many 
of the plantations on which the people have been 
ill used, while slaves and apprentices, will be 
abandoned by the present laborers, and that they 
will never be worked until overseers are put over 
them who, instead of doing all they can to harass 
them, will soothe and conciliate them. The ap- 
prenticeship has done much harm instead of good 
in the way of preparing the blacks to work after 
1840. 

A few days after our return from the moun- 
tains, we rode to Spanishtown, which is about , 
twelve miles west of Kingston. Spanishtown is 
the seat of government, containing the various 
buildings for the residence of the governor, the 
meeting of the legislature, the session of the courts, 
and rooms for the several officers of the crown. 
They are all strong and massive structures, but 
display little architectural magnificence or beauty. 

We spent nearly a day with Richard Hill, Esq., 
the secretary of the special majjistrates' deparf- 



1 



J A M A I C A . 



105 



ment of whom we have already spoken. He is 
a colored gentleman, and in every respect the no- 
blest man, white or black, whom we met m the 
West Indies. He is highly intelligent, and of 
fine moral feelings. His manners are free and 
unassuming, and his language in conversation 
fluent and well chosen. He is intimately ac- 



tem, full of blunders and absurdities, and directly 
calculated to set master and slave at war. 

2. The complaints against the apprentices are 
'decreasing every month, except, pcrliaps, com- 
plaints against molJiers for absence from uwrk, 
which he thinks are increasing. Tho apprentice- 
ship law makes no provision for the free children, 



.u^l^t^ wUh Eng^ and French'au; W-^ ^.A ^ on most of the plantations and estates no al- 
2as studied thoroughly the history and character lowancc is given them, but they are thrown en- 
has stuaieu 11 oriu y ,/.,,„, ,,^, ^^„. tirelv for suDDort on their parents, who arc obliged 



of the people with whom the tie of color has con 
nected him. He travelled two years iu Hayti, 
and his letters, written in a flowing and luxuri- 
ant stylo, as a son of the tropics should write, 
giving an account of his observations and inqui- 
ries in that interesting island, were published ex- 
tensively in England, and have been copied into 
the anti-slavery journals in this country. His 
journal will be given to the public as soon as his 
official duties will permit him to prepare it. He 
is at the head of the special magistrates, (of which 
there are sixty in the island,) and all the corres- 
pondence between them and the governor is car- 
ried on through him. The station he holds is a 
very important one, and the business connected 
with it is of a character and an extent that, were he 
not a man of superior abilities, he could not sus- 
tain. He is highly respected by the government 
in the island, and at home, and possesses the es- 
teem of his fellow-citizens of all colors. He asso- 
ciates with persons of the highest rank, dining and 
attending parties at the government-house with 
all the aristocracy of Jamaica. We had the pleas- 
ure of spending an evening with him at the so- 
licitor-general's. Though an African sun has 
burnt a deep tinge on him, he is truly one of na- 
ture's noblemen. His demeanor is such, so digni- 
fied, yet bland and amiable, that no one can help 
respecting him.* 

He spoke in the warmest terms of Lord Sligo,* 
the predecessor of Sir Lionel Smith, who was 
driven from the islttnd by the machinations of 
the planters and the enemies of the blacks. Lord 
Slisro was remarkable for his statistical accuracy. 
Reports were made to him by the special magis- 
trates every week. No act of injustice or oppres- 
sion could escape his indefatigable inquiries. He 
was accessible, and lent an open ear to the low- 
est person in the island. The planters left no 
means untried to remove him, and unhappily suc- 
ceeded. 

The following items contain the principal in- 
formation received from Mr. Hill : 

L The apprenticeship is a most vicious sys- 

* When Lord SUgo visited the United States in the sum- 
mer of 1S.36, he spoke with gieat respect of Mr. Hill to 
Elizur Wright, Esq., Corresponding Secretary of the 
American Anti-Slavery Society. Mr. Wright has fur- 
nished us witli the following statement: — "Just before 
his lordsliip left this city for England, he bore testimony 
to us substantially as follows : — ' Wlicn I went to Jamaica, 
Mr. Hill was a special magistrate. In a certain case he 
refused to comply with my directions, differing from me 
in his interpretation of the law. 1 informed him that his 
continued non-compUance must result in hisremoval from 
olfice. He replied that his mind was made up as to the 
law, and he would not violate his reason to save his bread. 
Being satisfied of the correctness of my own interpreta- 
tion, I w.as obliged, of course, to remove him ; but I was 
so forcibly struck with his manly independence, that I 
applied to the government for power to employ him as 
my secretary, which was granted. And having had him 
as an inmate of my faint hj (or se\era\ montli.s, I can most 
' cordially bear my testimony to his trustworthiness, abil- 
ity, and gentlemanly deportment.' Lord Sligo also added, 
that Mr. Hili was treated in his family in all respects as if 
he had not hern colorefl. and that with no gentleman in 
the West hidles w\s he, in iiocial life, on terms of more 
•ntimate friendship. 



tirely for support on their parents 
to work tlie most and best part of their time tor 
their masters unrewarded. The nurseries are 
broken up, and frequently the mothers are obliged 
to work in the fields wi'.h their infants at their 
backs, or else to leave them at some distance un- 
der the shade of a hedge or tree. Every year is 
making their condition worse and worse. The 
number of children is increasing, and yet the 
mothers are required, after their youngest child has 
attained the age of a few weeks, to be at work ine 
same number of hours as the men. Very littk 
time is given them to take care of their household. 
When they are tardy they are brought before the 
magistrate. 

A woman was brought before Mr. Hill a few 
days before we were there, charged with not being 
in the field till one hour after the rest of the ^ang. 
She had twins, and appeared before him with a 
child hanging on each arm. What an eloquent 
defence! He dismissed the complaint,'^''" ' - 

He mentioned another case, of a woman -verbose 
master resided in Spanishtown, but who was 
hired out by him to some person in the country. 
Her child became sick, but her employer refused 
any assistance. With it in her arms, she entreat- 
ed aid of her master. The monster drove her ^ nd 
her dying little one into the street at night, and 
she sought shelter with Mr. Hill, where her child 
expired before morning. For such horrid cruelly 
as this, the apprenticeship law provides no remedy. 
The woman had no claim for the support of her 
child, on the man who was receiving the wages 
of her daily toil. That child was not worth a 
farthing to him, because it was no longer his 
chattel; and while the law gives him power to 
rob the mother, it has no compulsion to make him 
support the child. 

3. The complaints are generally of the most 
trivial and frivolous natitre. They are mostly 
against mothers for neglect of duty, and vague 
charges of insolence. There is no provision in 
the law to prevent the master from using abusive 
language to the apprentice; any insult short of 
a blow, he is free to commit ; but the slightest 
word of incivility, a look, smile, or grin, is pun- 
ished in the apprentice, even though it were pro- 
voked. 

4. There is still much flogging by the overseers. 
Last week a girl came to Mr. H. terribly scarred 
and " slashed," and complained that her master 
had beaten her. It appeared that this was the 
seventh offence, for neither of which she could ob- 
tain a hearing from the special magistrate in her 
district. While Mr. H. was relating to me this 
fact, a girl came in with a little babe in her arms. 
He called my attention to a large bruise near her 
eye. He said her master knocked her down a few 
days since, and made that wound by kicking her. 

Frequently when complaints of insolence are 
made, on investigation, it is found that the of- 
fence was the result of a quarrel commenced by 
the master, during which he either cuffed or kick- 
ed the offender. 

The special magistrates also frequently resort 



106 



JAMAICA. 



to flogging. Many of them, as has been men- 
tioned ah-eady, have been connected with the 
army or navy, where corporal punishment is prac- 
tised, and flogging; is not only in consonance with 
their f.-t-lings and habits, but is a punishment 
more briefly inflicted and more grateful to the 
plaiUirs, as it does j;iot dppi^ive tlaem of the ap- 
prentice's time. .,^,_ ;V-(fioir; /, -II ..'!-. -Hi-.i;' 

, 5. Mr. H. says that the apprentices wfio'have 
*' -f^urchased their freedom behave well. He has not 
known one of them to be brought before the po- 
lice. 

(). Many of tlie special magistrates require much 
looking after. Their salaries are not suflicient to 
support them independently. Some of them leave 
their homes on Monday morniny, and make the 
wiiole circuit of their district before returning, 
living and lodging meanwhile, free of expense, 
with the planters. If they are not inclined to lis- 
ten to the complaints of the apprentices, they soon 
find that the apprentices are not inclined to make 
complaints to them, and that they consequently 
have much more leisure time, and get through 
their district much easier. Of the sixty magis- 
trates in Jamaica, but few can be said to dis- 
charge their duties faithfully. The governor is 
often required to interfere. A few weeks since he 
discharged two magistrates for putting iron col- 
lars on two women, in direct violation of the law, 
uiu.l tiien sending him false reports. 

7. The negro grounds are often at a great dis- 
tance fivi^ or six miles, and some of them fifteen 
miles, from the plantation. Of course much time, 
which would otherwise be spent in cultivating 
them, is necessarily consumed in going to them and 
ret""".ing. Yet for all that, and though in many 
( ases the planters have withdrawn the watchmen 
who used to protect them, and have left them en- 
tirely exposed to thieves and cattle, they are gen- 
erally well cultivated — on the whole, better than 
during slavery. When there is inattention to 
them, it is caused either by some planters hiring 
them daring their own time, or because their mas- 
ter permits his CHttle t) trespass on them, and the 
people feel an insecurity. When you find a kind 
planter, in whom the apprentices have confidence, 
there you will find beautiful gardens. In not a 
few instances, where the overseer is particularly 
harsh and cruel, the negroes have thrown up their 
old grounds, and taken new ones on other planta- 
tions, where the overseer is better liked, or gone 
into the depths of the mountain forests, where no 
human foot has been before them, and there cleared 
up small plats. This was also done to some ex- 
tent during slavery. Many of the people, against 
whom the planters are declaiming as lazy and 
worthless, have rich grounds of which those 
planters little dream. 

8. There is no feeling of insecurity, either of life 
or property. One may travel through the whole 
island without the least fear of violence. If there 
is any danger, it is from the emigrants, who have 
been .guilty of several outrages. So far from the 
planteiig fearing violence from the apprentices, 
when an assault or theft is committed, they refer 
jt, almost as a matter of course, to some one else. 
A few weeks ago one of the island mails was 
robbed. As soon as it became known, it was at 
once said, " Some of those villanous emigrants 
did it," and so indeed it proved. 

People in the country, in the midst of the moun- 
tains, where the whites are few and isolated, sleep 
with their doors and windows open, without a 
thought of being molested. In the towns there 



are no watchmen, and but a small police, and yet 
the streets are quiet and property safe. 

9. The apprentices understand the great pro- 
visions of the new system, such as the number of 
hours they must work for their master, and that 
their masters have no right to flog them, &c., but 
its details are inexplicable mysteries. The mas- 
teio have done much injury by deceiving them on 
points of which they were ignorant. 

10. The apprentices almost to a man are ready 
to work for wages during their own time. When 
the overseer is severe towards them, they prefei 
working on other plantations, even for less wages, 
as is very natural. 

11. Almost all the evils of the apprenticeship 
arise from the obstinacy and oppressive conduct 
of the overseers. They are constantly taking ad- 
vantage of the defects of the system, which are 
many, and while they demand to the last grain's 
weight " the pound of flesh," they are utterly 
unwilling to yield the requirements which the law 
makes of them. Where you find an overseer 
endeavoring in every way to overreach the ap- 
prentices, taking away the privileges which they 
enjoyed during slavery, and exacting from them 
the utmost minute and mite of labor, there you 
will find abundant complaints both against the 
master and the apprentice. And the reverse. The 
cruel overseers are complaining of idleness, in- 
subordination, and ruin, while the kind master is 
moving on peaceably and prosperously. 

12. The domestic apprentices have either one 
day, or fifty cents cash, each week, as an allow- 
ance for food and clothing. This is quite insuflii- 
cient. Many of the females seem obliged to resort 
to theft or to prostitution to obtain a support. 
Two girls were brought before Mr. Hill while we 
were with him, cha.ged with neglect of duty and 
night-walking. One of them said her allowance 
was too small, and she must get food in some 
other way or starve. 

13. The apprentices on many plantations have 
been deprived of several privileges which they 
enjoyed under the old system. Nurseries have 
been abolished, water-carriers have been taken 
away, keeping stock is restricted, if not entirely 
forbidden, watchmen are no longer provided to 
guard the negro grounds, &c. — petty aggiessicns 
in our eyes, perhaps, but severe to them. Another 
instance is still more hard. By the custom of 
slavery, women who had reared up seven children 
were permitted to " sit down," as it was termed; 
that is, were not obliged to go into the field to 
work. Now no such distinction is made, but alii 
are driven into the field. hf 

14. One reason why the crops were smaller in 
1835 and 1836 than in former years, was, that the 
planters in the preceding seasons, either fearful 
that the negroes would not take oft' the crops after 
emancipation, and acting on their baseless pre- 
dictions instead of facts, or determined to make 
the results of emancipation appear as disastrous 
as possible, neglected to put in the usual amount 
of cane, and to clean the coffee fields. As they 
refused to sow, of course they could not reap. 

1.5. The complaints against the apprentices 
generally are becoming fewer every week, but the 
complaints against the masters are increasing 
both in number and severity. One reason of this 
is, that the apprentices, on the one hand, are be- 
coming better acquainted with the new system, 
and therefore better able to avoid a violation of its 
provisions, and are also learning that they cannot 
violate these provisions with impunity ; and, on 



JAMAICA. 



107 



the other nand, they are gaining courage to com- 
plain against their masters, to whom they have 
hitherto been subjected by a fear created by the 
whips and dungeons, and nameless tortures of 
slavery. Another reason is, that the masters, as 
the term of the apprenticeship shortens, and the 
end of the> authority approaches nearer, are 
pressing their poor\ictims harder and harder, 
determined to extort from them all they can, before 
complete emancipation rescues them tor ever from 
their grasp. 

While we were in conversation with Mr. Hill, 
Mr. Ramsay, one of the special magistrates for 
this parish, called in. He is a native of Jamaica, 
and has been educated under all the influences of 
West India society, but has held fast his integrity, 
and is considered the firm friend of the apprentices. 
He confirmed every fact and opinion which Mr. 
Hill had given. He was even stronger than Mr. 
H. in his expressions of disappi'obation of the 
apprenticeship. 

The day which we spent with Mr. Hill was 
one of those on which he holds a special justice's 
court. There were only three cases of complaint 
brought before him. 

Tlie first was brought by a woman, attended 
by her husband, against her servant girl, for 
" impertinence and insubordination." She took 
the oath and commenced her testimony with an 
abundance of vague charges. " She is the most 
msolent girl I ever saw. She'll do nothing that 
she is told to do — she never thinks of minding 
what is said to her — she is sulky and saucy," etc. 
Mr. H. told her she must be specific — he could not 
convict the girl on such general charges — some 
particular acts must be proved. 

She became specific. Her charges were as fol- 
lows : 

1. On the previous Thursday the defendant 
was plaiting a shirt. The complainant went up 
to her and asked her why she did not plait it as 
she ought, and not hold it in her hand as she did. 
Defendant replied, that it was easier, and she pre- 
ferred that way to the other. The complainant 
I'emonstrated, but, despite all she could say, the 
obstinate girl persisted, and did it as she chose. 
The complainant granted that the work was done 
well, only it was not done in the way she desired. 

2. The same day she ordered the defendant to 
wipe up some tracks in the hall. She did so. 
While she was doing it, the mistress told her the 
room was very dusty, and reproved her for it. 
The girl replied, " Is it morning'?" (It is custo- 
mary to clean the rooms early in the morning, 
and the girl made this reply late in the afternoon, 
when sufficient time had elapsed for the room to 
become dusty again.) 

3. The girl did not wash a cloth clean which 
the complainant gave her, and the complainant 
was obliged to wash it herself 

4. Several times when the complainant and her 
daughter have been conversing together, this girl 
had burst into laughter — whether at them or their 
conversation, complainant did not know. 

5. When the complainant has reproved the de- 
fendant for not doing her work well, she has re- 
plied, " Can't you let me alone to my work, and 
not worry my life out." 

A black man, a constable on the same property, 
was brought up to confirm the charges. He 
knew nothing about the case, only that he often 
heard the parties quarrelling, and sometimes had 
told the girl not to say any thing, as she knew 
what her mistress was. 



It appeared in the course of the evidence, that 
the complainant and her husband had both 
been in the habit of speaking disrespectfully of 
the special magistrate, stationed in their district, 
and that many of the contentions arose out of 
that, as ihe girl sometimes defended him. 

While the accused was making her defence, 
which she did in a modest way, her mistress was 
highly enraged, and interrupted her several times, 
by calling her a liar and a jade. The magistrate 
was two or three times obliged to reprove her, and 
command her to be silent, and, so passionate 
did she become, that her husband, ashamed of her, 
put his hand on her shoulder, and entreated her 
to be calm. 

Mr. Hill dismissed the complaint by giving 
some good advice to both parties, much to the an- 
noyance of the mistress. 

The second complaint was brought by a man 
against a servant girl, for disobedience of orders, 
and insolence. It appears that she was ordered, 
at ten o'clock at night, to do some work. She 
was just leaving the house to call on some friends, 
as she said, and refused. On being told by her 
mistress that she only wanted to go out for bad 
purposes, she replied, that " It was no matter — 
the allowance they gave her was not sufficient to 
support her, and if they would not give her more, 
she must get a living any way she could, so she 
did not steal." She was sentenced to the house of 
correction for one week. 

The third case was a complaint against a boy 
for taking every alternate Friday and Saturday, 
instead of every Saturday, for allowance. He 
was ordered to take every Saturday, or to receive 
in lieu of it half a dollar. 

Mr. Hill said these were a fair specimen of the 
character of the complaints that came before him. 
We were much pleased with the maimer in which 
he presided in his court, the ease, dignity, and 
impartiality which he exhibited, and the respect 
which was shown him by all parties. 

In company with Mr. Hill, we called on Rev. 
Mr. Phillips, the Baptist missionary, stationed at 
Spanishtown. Mr. P. has been in the island 
thirteen years. He regards the apprenticeship as 
a great amelioration of the old system of slavery, 
but as coming far short of the full privileges and 
rights of freedom, and of what it was expected 
to be. It is beneficial to the missionaries, as it 
gives them access to the plantations, while before, 
in many instances, they were entirely excluded 
from them, and in all cases were much shackled 
in their operations. 

Mr. P. has enlarged his chapel within the last 
fifteen months, so that it admits several hundreds 
more than formerly. But it is now too small. 
The apprentices are much more anxious to receive 
religious instruction, and much more open to con- 
viction, than when slaves. He finds a great dif- 
ference now on different plantations. Where 
severity is used, as it still is on many estates, and 
the new system is moulded as nearly as possible: 
on the old, the minds of the apprentices are ap- 
parently closed against all impressions, — but 
where they are treated with kindness, they are 
warm in their affections, and solicitous to be 
taught. 

In connection with his church, Mr. P. has 
charge of a large school. The number present, 
when we visited it, was about two hundred. There 
was, to say the least, as much manifestation of 
intellect and sprightliness as we ever saw in white 
)nipi!s of the same age. Most of the childrep- 



108 



JAMAICA. 



were slaves previous to 1834, and their parents 
are still apprentices. Several vvere pointed out to 
us who were not yet free, and attend only by per- 
mission, sometimes purchased, of their master. 
The greater part live from three to five miles 
distant. Mr. P. says he finds no lack of interest 
among the apprentices about education. He can 
find scholars for as many schools as he can estab- 
lish, if he keeps himself unconnected with the 
planters. The apprentices are opposed to all 
schools established by, or in any way allied to, 
their masters. 

Mr. P. says the planters are doing nothing to 
prepare the apprentices for freedom in 1840. They 
do not regard the apprenticeship as intermediate 
time for preparation, but as part of the compensa- 
tion. Every day is counted, not as worth so 
much for education and moral instruction, but as 
worth so much for digging cane-holes, and clear- 
ing coffee fields. 

Mr. P.'s cliurch escaped destruction during the 
persecution of the Baptists. The wives and con- 
nections of many of tlie colored soldiers had taken 
refuge in it, and had given out word that they 
would defend it even against their own husbands 
and brothers, who in turn informed their officers 
that if ordered to destroy it, they should refuse at 
all peril. 



:S' 'Chapter hi. 



if ."iJfiO KESDLTS OF ABOLITION. 

The actual working of the apprenticeship in 
Jamaica, was the specific object of our investiga- 
tions in that island. That it had not operated so 
happily as in Barbadoes, and in most of the other 
colonies, was admitted by all parties. As to the 
degree of its failure, we were satisfied it was not 
so great as had been represented. There has 
been nothing of an insurrectionary character since 
the abolition of slavery. The affair on Thorn- 
ton's estate, of which an account is given in the 
preceding chapter, is the most serious disturbance 
which has occurred during the apprenticeship. 
The/e«r of insurrection is as effectually dead in 
Jamaica, as in Barbadoes — so long as the appren- 
ticeship lasts. There has been no increase of 
crime. The character of the negro population 
has been gradually improving in morals and in- 
telligence. Marriage has increased, the Sabbath 
is more generally observed, and religious worship 
is better attended. Again, the apprentices of Ja- 
maica have not manifested any peculiar defiance 
of law. The most illiberal magistrates testified 
that the people respected the law, when they un- 
derstood it. As it respects the industry of the 
apprentices, there are different opinions among 
the planters themselves. Some admitted that 
they were as industrious as before, and did as 
mucli work inpropnrtion to the time they loere em- 
ploijci!.. Olhers complained that they lacked the 
power 10 colTipel industry, and that hence there 
was a falling off of Vv-ork. The prominent evils 
complained of in Jamaica are, absconding from 
work, and insolence to masters. From the state- 
ments in the preceding chapter, it may be inferred 
that many things are called by these names, and 
severely punished, which are really innocent or 
imavoidable ; however, it would not be won- 
derful if there were numerous instances of both. 
Insolnnc^. is the legitimate fruit of the appren- 
♦iccsliip, wliich holds out to the apprenJici', that 
iie possesses the rights of a man, and still au- 



thorizes the master to treat him Jts though he were ■ 
little better than a dog. The result must often be 
that the apprentice will repay insult with inso- 
lence. This will continue to exist until either the 
former system of absoiute force is restored, or a 
system of free compensated labor,with its powerful 
checks and balances on both parties, is substituted. 
The prevalence and causes of the other offence — 
absconding from labor — will be noticed hereafter. 
The atrocities which ai-e practised by the mas- 
ters and magistrates, are appalling enough. It 
is probable that the actual condition of the ne- 
groes in Jamaica, is but little if any better than it 
was during slavery. The amount of punishment 
inflicted by the special magistrates, cannot fall 
much short of that usually perpetrated by the 
drivers. In addition to this, the apprentices are 
robbed of the time allowed them by law, at the 
will of the magistrate, who often deprives them 
of it on the slightest complaint of the overseer. 
The situation of the /rec children* is often very 
deplorable. The master feels none of that inter- 
est in them which he formerly felt in the children 
that were his property, and consequently, makes 
no provision for them. They are thrown entirely 
upon their parents, who are unable to take proper 
care of them, from tlie almost constant demands 
which the master makes upon their time. The 
condition of pregnant women, and nursing moth- 
ers, is decidedly vjorse than it was during slavery. 
The privileges which the planter felt it for hi.s in- 
terest to grant these formerly, for the sake of their 
children, are now withheld. The former are ex- 
posed to the inclemencies of the weather, and the 
hardships of toil — the latter are cruelly dragged 
away from their infants, that the master may not 
lose the smallest portion of time, — and both are 
liable at any moment to be incarcerated in the 
dungeon, or strung up on the treadwheel. In 
consequence of the cruelties which are practised, 
the apprentices are in a disaffected state through- 
out the island. 

In assigning the causes of the ill-working of the 
apprenticeship in Jamaica, we would say in the 
commencenrent, that nearly all of them are em- 
bodied in the intrinsic defects of the system itself. 
These defects have been exposed in a former 
chapter, and we need not repeat them here. The 
reason why the system has not produced as much 
mischief in all the colonies as it has in Jamaica, 
is that the local circumstances in the other islands 
were not so adapted to develop its legitimate 
results. 

It is not without the most careful investigation 
of facts, that we have allowed ourselves to enter- 
tain the views which we are now about to ex- 
press, respecting the conduct of the planters and 
special justices — for it is to them that we must 
ascribe the evils which exist in Jamaica. We 
cheerfully accede to them all of palliation Avhich 
may be found in the provocations incident to the 
wretched system of apprenticeship. 

The causes of the difficulties rest chiefly with 
the planters. They were originally implicated, 
and by their wily schemes they soon involved the 
special magistrates. The Jamaica planters, as a 
body, always violently opposed the abolition of 
slavery. Unlike the planters in most of the colo- 
nies, they cherished their hostility after the act of 
abolition. It would seem that they had agreed 
with one accord, never to become reconciled to 
the measures of the English government, and had 

' All children under s/x J/ears of age at the tuiie o) abo- 
lition, were iiade entirely free. 



JAMAICA. 



109 



of 



sworn eternal hostility to every scheme of eman- 
cipation. Whether this resulted most from love 
for slavery or hatred of English intcrfercnoa, it. is 
difficult to determine. If we were to believe the 
planters themselves, who are of the opposition, 
we should conclude that they were far from being 
in favor of slavery— that they were " as much 
opposed to slavery, as any one can be."* Not- 
withstanding this avowal, the tenacity with which 
the planters cliii^ to the remnant of their pow 
er, shows an affection for it, of the stren 
which they are not probably themselves aware. 

When public men have endeavored to be faith- 
ful and upright, they have uniformly been abused, 
and even persecuted, by the planters. The fol- 
lov.'in^ facts will show that the latter have not 
scrupled to resort to the most dishonest and unman- 
ly intrigues to effect the removal or to circumvent 
the influence of such men. Neglect, ridicule, vulgar 
abuse, slander, threats, intimidation, misrepresent- 
ation, and legal prosecutions, have been the mild- 
est weapons employed against those who in the 
discharge of their sworn duties dared to befriend 
the oppressed. 

The shameful treatment of the late governor, 
Lord Sligo, illusti-ates this. His Lordship was 
appointed to the government about the period of 
abolition. Being himself a proprietor of estates 
in the island, and formerly chairman of the West 
India Body, he was received at first with the 
greatest cordiality; but it was soon perceived 
that he was disposed to secure justice to the ap- 
prentices. From the accounts we received, we 
have been led to entertain an exalted opinion of 
his integrity and friendship for the poor. It was 
his custom (unprecedeiUed in the West Indies,) 
to give a patient hearing to the poorest negro who 
might carry his grievances to the government- 
house. After hearing the complaint, he would 
despatch an order to the special magistrate of the 
district in which the complainant lived, directing 
him to inquire into the case. By this means he 
kept the magistrates employed, and secured re- 
dress to the' apprentices in many cases where 
they would otherwise have been neglected. 

The governor soon rendered himself exceeding- 
ly obnoxious to the planters, and they began to 
manoeuvre for his removal, which, in a short time, 
was effected by a most flagitious procedure. The 
home government, disposed to humor their unruly 
colony, sent them a governor in whom they are 
not likely to tind any fault. The present govern- 
or, Sir Lionel Smith, is the antipode of his prede- 
cessor in every worthy respect. When the ap- 
prentices come to him with their complaints, he 
sends them back unheard, with curses on their 
heads. A distinguished gentleman in the colony 
remarked of bim "that he icas a heartless militariu^ 
chieftain, who ruled wilhout regard to mercy. Or 

* It seems to be the order of the day, with the opposi- 
tion partv in .Jamaica, to disclaim all friendship with sla- 
vevv. Wo noticed several instances of tliis in the island 
pnpers, which have been most hostile to abolition. We 
quote the loUowintr sample from the Royal Gazette, 
(Kingston) for May 6, 1S37. The editor, in an article re- 
specting Cuba, says : 

"In writing this, one chief object is to arouse the 
attention of our own fellow-subjects, in this colony, to the 
situation— the danfccrous situation— in which they stand, 
and to implore them to lend all their et.ersies to avert tlie 
ruin that is likely to visit them, should America get the 
domination of Cuba. 

"The neiroes of this and of all the British W. I. colo- 
nies have been ' emancipated.' Cuba on the other hand 
is still a slavf country, (l.ct not our readm:" imagine for 
one moment that we advocate the continuancs qf sla- 
very,") &t. .9311 ViajiiHS soaii: 



course the planters are full of his praise. His 
late lonr of the island was a triumphal procession, 
amid liie sycop!i^.ntic greetings of opi re.-,60rs. 

Several special magistraics have Ijeen sttspend- 
ed because of the faitiiful discharge of their duties. 
Among these was Dr. Palmer, an independent 
and courageous man. Repeated complaints were 
urged against him by the planters, until finally 
Sir Lionel Smith appointed a commission to in- 
quire into the grounds of the difficulty. 

'• This commission consisted of two local magis- 
trates, both of them planters or managers of es- 
tates, and two stipendiary magistrates, the bias 
of one of w*liom, at least, was believed to be 
against Dr. Palmer. At the conclusion of their 
inquiry they summed up their report by saying 
that Dr. Palmer had administered the abolition 
law in the spirit of the English abolition act, and 
in his administration of the law he had adapted it 
more to the comprehension of freemen than to the 
understandings of apprenticed laborers. Not 
only did Sir Lionel Smith suspend Dr. Palmer 
on this report, but the colonial office at home have 
dismissed him from his situation." 

The following facts respecting the persecution 
of Special Justice Bourne, illustrate the same 
thing. ■-, ,. 

" A book-keeper of the name of Maijleanj on 
the estate of the Rev. M. Hamilton, an Irish cler- 
gyman, committed .a brutal assault upon an old 
African. The attorney on the property refused 
to hear the complaint of the negro, who went to 
Stephen Bourne, a special magistrate. When 



Maclean was brought before him, he did not 
deny the fact; but said as the old man was not 
a Christian, his oath could not be taken ! The 
magistrate not being able to ascertain the amount 
of injury inflicted upon the negro (whose head 
was dreadfully cut,) but feeling that it was a case 
which required a greater penalty than three 
pounds sterling, the amount of punishment to 
which he waslimited by the local acts, detained 
Maclean, and afterwards committed him to jail, 
and wrote the next day to the chief justice upon 
the subject. He was discharged as soon as a 
doctor's certificate was procured of the state of the 
wounded man, and bail was given for his appear- 
ance at the assizes. Maclean's trial came on at 
the assizes, and he was found guilty by a Jamaica 
Jury ; he was severely reprimanded for his inhu- 
man conduct, and fined thirty pounds. The poor 
apprentice however got no remuneration for the 
severe injury inflicted upon him, and the special 
justice was prosecuted for false iiuprisonment, 
dragged from court to court, represented as an 
oppressor and a tyrant, subjected to four hundred 
pounds expenses in defending himself, and actu- 
ally had judgment given against him for on& 
hundred and fifty pounds damages. 

" Thus hove the planters succeeded in pulling 
down every magistrate who ventures to do more 
than fine them three pounds sterling for any act 
of cruelty of which they may be guilty. On the 
other hand, there were two magistrates who were 
lately dismissed, through, I believe, the represen- 
tation of Lord Sligo, fo^- flagrant violations of the 
law in inflicting punishment; and in order to 
evince their sympathy for those men, the planters 
save them a farewell dinner, and had actually set 
on foot a subscription, as a tribute of gratitude for 
their " Impartial" conduct in administering the 
laws, as special justices. Thus were two men, 
notoriously guilty of violations of law and hu- 
manity, publicly encouraged and protected, while 



110 



RESULTS OP ABOLITION. 



Stephen Bourne, who according to the testimony 
of the present and late attorney-general had acted 
not only justly but legally, was suffering every 
species of persecution and iVidignity for so doing." 

Probably nothing could demonstrate the mean- 
ness of the artifices to which the planters resort to 
get rid of troublesome magistrates better than 
the following fact. When the present governor, 
in making his tour of the island, came into 
St. Thomas in the East, some of the planters of 
Manchioneal district hired a negro constable on 
one of the estates to go to the governor and com- 
plain to him that Mr. Chamberlain encouraged 
the apprentices to be disorderly and idle. The 
negro went accordingly, but like another Balaam, 
he prophesied against his emplmjers. He stated 
to the governor that the apprentices on the estate 
where he lived were lazy and wouldn't do right, 
but he declared that it ivas not Mr. C.'s fault, for 
that he was not alloioed to come on the estate ! 

Having given such an unfavorable description 
of the mass of planters, it is but just to add that 
there are a few honorable exceptions. There are 
some attorneys and overseers, who if they dared 
to face the allied powers of oppression, would act 
a noble part. But they are trammelled by an 
overpowering public sentiment, and are induced 
to fall in very much with the prevailing practices. 
One of this class, an attorney of considerable in- 
fluence, di^clined giving us his views in writing, 
stating that his situation and the state of public 
sentiment must be his apology. An overseer who 
was disposed to manifest the most liberal bearing 
towards his appi-entices, and who had directions 
from the absentee proprietor to that effect, was yet 
effectually prevented by his attorney, who having 
several other estates under his charge, was fearful 
of losing them, if he did not maintain the same 
severe discipline on all. 

The special magistrates are also deeply impli- 
cated in causing the difficulties existing under the 
apprenticeship. They are incessantly exposed to 
multiplied and powerful temptations. The per- 
secution which they are sure to incur by a faith- 
ful discharge of their duties, has already been no- 
ticed. It would require men of unusual sternness 
of principle to face so fierce an array. Instead of 
being independent of the planters, their situation 
is in every respect totally the reverse. Instead of 
having a central office or station-house to hold 
their courts at, as is the case in Barbadoes, they 
are required to visit each estate in their districts. 
They have a circuit from forty to sixty miles to 
compass every fortnight, or in some cases three 
times every month. On these tours they are ab- 
solutely dependent upon the hospitality of the 
planters. None but men of the " sterner stuff" 
could escape, (to use the negro's phrase) being 
poisoned by niassah turtle soup. The character 
of the men who are acting as magistrates is thus 
described by a colonial magistrate of high stand- 
ing and experience. 

" The special magistracy department is filled 
with the most worthless men, both domestic and 
jmported. It was a necessary qualification of 
die former to possess no property ; hence the most 
•worthless vagabonds on the island were appoint- 
ed. The latter Vv'ere worn out officers and dissi- 
pated rakes, whom the English government sent 
,off here in order to get rid of them." As a speci- 
men of the latter kind, this gentleman mentioned 
one (special Justice Light) who died lately from 
•excessive dissipation. He was constantly drunk, 
and :the only way in which he could be got to do 



any business was to take him on to an estate ii 
the evening so that he might »leep off his intoxi 
cation, and then the business was brought befor 
him early the next morning, before he had tiim 
to get to his cups. 

It is well known that many of tlie special ma 
gistrates are totally unprincipled men, monsten 
of cruelty, lust, and despotism. As a result o 
natural character m many cases, and of depend- 
ence upon planters in many more, the great mass 
of the special justices are a disgrace to their office 
and to the government which commissioned them 
Out of sixty, the number of special justices in Ja- 
maica, there are not more than fifteen, or twenty 
at farthest, who are not the merest tools of the at 
torneys and overseers. Their servility was graph 
ically hit off by the apprentice. " If busha say 
flog em, he flog em ; if busha say send them to 
the treadmill, he send em." If an apprentice 
laughs or sings, and the busha represents it to the 
magistrate as insolence, he feels it his duty ta 
make an example of the offender! 

The following fact will illustrate the mjustice 
of the magistrates. It was stated in writing by 
a missionary. We conceal all names, in compli- 
ance with the request of the writer. " An appren- 
tice belonging to in the was sent 

to the treadmill by special justice G. He was or- 
dered to go out and couni the sheep, as he was 
able to count higher than some of the field people, 
although a house servant from his youth — I may 
say childhood. Instead of bringing in the tally 
cut upon a piece of board, as usual, he wrote the 
number eighty upon a piece of paper. When the 
overseer saw it, he would scarcely believe that 
any of his people could write, and ordered a piece 
of coal to be brought and made him write it over 
again; the next day he turned him into the field, 
but unable to perform the task, (to hoe and weed 
one hundred coffee roots daily) with those who 
had been accustomed to field work all their lives, 
he was tried for neglect of duty, and sentenced to 
fourteen days on the treadmill !" 

We quote the following heart-rending account 
from the Telegraph,(Spanishtown,) April 28, 1837. 
It is from a Baptist missionary. 

" I see something is doing in England to shorten 
the apprenticeship system. I pray God it may 
soon follow its predecessor — slavery, for it is in- 
deed slavery under a less disgusting name. Bu- 
siness i itely (December 23) called me to Rodney 
Hall ; and while I was there, a poor old negro 
was brought in for punishment. I heard the fear- 
ful vociferation, 'twenty stripes.' 'Very well; 

here , put this man down.' I felt as 

I cannot describe ; yet I thought, as the supervisor 
was disposed to be civil, my presence might tend 
jto make the punishment less severe than it usu- 
ally is — but I was disappointed. I inquired into 
the crime for which such an old man could be so 
severely punished, and heard various accounts. 
I wrote to the magistrate who sentenced him to 
receive it ; and after many days I got the follow 
ing reply. 

" ' Logan Castle, Jan. 9, 1836. 

" ' Sir — In answer to your note of the 4th in- 
stant, I beg leave to state, that , an ap 

prentice belonging to , was brought be- 
fore me by Mr. , his late overseer, charged 

upon oath with continual neglect of duty and dis- 
obedience of orders as eattle-man, and also for 
stealing milk — was coi-victed, and sentenced t*^ 
receive twenty stripes. So far from the punish- 



JAMAICA. 



Ill 



mom of the ofTender being severe, he was not or- 
dered one half the number of stripes provided for 
Kuch cases by the abolition act — if he received 
moie than that number, or if those were inflicted 
with undue severity, I shall feel happy in making 
every inquiry amongst the authorities at Rodney 
Hall institution. 

" ' I remain, sir, yours, truly, 

" T. W. Jones, S. M. 

'" Rev. J. Clarke, &c., &c."' 

From Mr. Clarke's reply, we make the follow- 
ing extract : 

" Jericho, January 19, 183G. 
" Sir — I beg to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of the 9th instant. 

" Respecting the punishment of , I 

still adhere to the opinion I before expressed, that, 
for an old man of about sixty years of age, the 
punishment was severe. To see a venerable old 
man tied as if to be broken on the wheel, and cut 
to the bone by the lash of an athletic driver — 
writhing and yelling under the most exquisite 
torture, were certainly circumstances sufficiently 
strong to touch the heart of anv one possessed of 
the smallest degree of common humanity. The 
usual preparations being made, the old man quiet- 
ly stripped off his upper garments, and lay down 
upon the board — he was then tied by his legs, 
middle, above the elbows, and at each wrist. Mr. 

then called out to the driver, ' I hope you 

will do your duty — he is not sent here for noth- 
ing.' At the first lash the skin started up; and 
at the third, the blood began to flow; ere the dri- 
ver had given ten, the cat was covered with gore; 
and he stopped to change it tor a dry one, which ap- 
peared to nie somewhat longer than the first. When 
the poor tortured creature had received sixteen, 
his violent struggles enabled him to get one of his 
hands loose, which he put instantly to his back — 
the driver stopped to retie him, and then proceed- 
ed to give the remaining four. The struggles of 
the poor old man from the first lash bespoke the 
most extreme torture; and his cries were to me 
most distressing. 'Oh! oh! mercy! mercy! 
mercy ! oh ! massa ! massa ! dat enough — crough ! 
oh, enough ! O, massa, have pity ! O, massa ! 
massa! dat enough — enough! Oh, never do de 
like again — only pity me — forgive me disonce! 
oh ! pity ! mercy ! mercy ! oh ! oh !' were the 
cries lie perpetually uttered. I shall remember 
them while I live; and would not for ten thousand 
worlds have been the cause of producing them. 
It was some minutes after he was loosed ere he 
could rise to his feet, and as he attempted to rise, 
he continued calling out, ' My back! oh! my 
back! my back is broken.' A long time he re- 
mained half-doubled, the blood flowing round his 
body ; ' I serve my master,' said the aged sufferer, 
' at all times; get no Saturday, no Sunday; yet 
this isde way dem use me.' " 

With such planters, and such magistrates to 
play into their hands, is it to be wondered at that 
the apprentices do badly 1 Enough has been said, 
we think, to satisfy any candid person as to the 
causes of the evils in Jamaica. If any thing 
further were needed, we might speak of the pe- 
culiar facilities which these "men have for perpe- 
trating acts of cruelty and injustice. The major 
part of the island is exceedingly mountainous, 
and a lare;e portion of the sugar estates, and most 
of the coflee plantations, are among the mountains. 
These estates are scattered over a wide extent of 
country, and separated by dense forests and moun- 



tains, which conceal each plantation from the pub- 
lic view almost as etfcctually as though it were 
the only property on the island. The only mode 
of access to many of the estates in the mountain- 
ous districts, is by mule paths winding about, 
amid fastnesses, precipices, and frightful solitudes. 
In those lone retirements, on the mountain to]), or 
in the deep glen by the side of the rocky rivers, 
the traveller occasionally meets with an estate. 
Strangers but rarely intrude upon those little do- 
mains. They are left to the solitary sway of the 
overseers dwelling amid their " gangs," and un- 
disturbed, save by the weekly visitations of the 
special magistrates. While the traveller is struck 
with the facilities for the perpetration of tiiose J 
enormities which must have existed there during 
slavery ; he is painfully impressed also with tlie 
numerous opportunities which are sliU aftovded 
lor oppressing the apprentices, particularly where 
the special magistrates are not honest men.* 

In view of the local situation of Jamaica — the 
violent character of its planters — and the inevit- 
able dependency of the magistrates, it is very 
manifest that immcdiale emancipaLioii was imper- ' 
atively demanderi there. In no other colony did 
the negroes require to be more entirely released 
from, the tyranimi of the overseers, or more tho- 
roughly shielded by the power of equal law. Thi« 
is a principle which must hold good always — that 
where slavery has been most rigorous and abso- 
lute, there emancipation needs to be most unqual- 
ified ; and where the sway of the master has been 
7nost despotic, cvdcl, and long continued, there 
the protection of law should be most speedily ex- 
tended and most impartially applied."^ 

' From the nature of the ca^, it must be impossible 
to know how much actual flogc;m2 is perpetrated by the 
overseers. We iriiarht safely conjecture that there must 
be a vast deal of it that never coinesto the light. Such 
is the decided belief of many of the first men in the island. 
The planters, say they, floa; their apprentices, and then, to 
prevent their complaining to the magistrate, threaten them 
witli severe punishment, or bribe them to silence by giv- 
iniz them a few shillings. Tlieattoniey-iifueial mentioned 
an in.stnnce of the latter jiolicy. A planter got angry with 
one of bis head men, who was a constable, ?.\m\ kriocUod 
him down. The man started oif to complain to the ■;ppcial 
magistrate. The master called liim back, and told him 
he need not go to the magistrate— that he was constable, 
and had a right to tine him himself " Well, massa." Si.id 
the negro, "I fine yon five shillings on despot." The 
master was glad to get oflF with that— the magistrate would 
probably have fined hiia £b currency. 

\ Since the above was written we have seen a copy ol a 
message sent by Sir Lionel Suiith, to the house of assei \- 
bly of Jamaica, on the 3d November, 1837, in which a 
statement of the deprivations of the apprentices, is offi- 
ciallv laid before the house. We make the following ex- 
tract from it, which contains, to use his E.xccllency's lan- 
guage, "the principal causes, as has been found by the 
records of the special magistrates, of complaints among 
the apprentices; and of consequent colUsions between 
the planters and magistrates." 

" Prudent and humane planters have already adopted 
what is rccoaunended, and their properties present the 
good working of this system in peace and industry, with- 
out their resorting to the authority of the special magis- 
trates , but there are other properties where neither the 
law of the apprenticeship nor the usages of slavery have 
been found sufficient tognard the rights of the appt entices. 

"First, tlje magistrates' reports show that on some 
estates the apprentices have been deprived of cooks and 
water-carriers while at work in the field — thus, the time 
allowed lor breakfast, instead of being a period of rest, is 
one of continual labor, as they have to seek lor fuel and 
to cook. The depriving them of water-carriers is still 
more injurious, as the \vorkmen are not allowed to quit 
their rows to obtain it. Both these privations are detri- 
mental to the planter's work. Second, a law seems want- 
ing to supply the estates' hospitals with sufficient attend- 
ants on tlie sick apprentices, as well as for the supply of 
proper food, as they cannot depend on their own grounds, 
whilst unable to leave the hospitals. The first clause of 
tne abolition law nas not beea (pund strong enough to 



}12 



JAM AlC A. 



We heard frequent complaints in Jamaica re- maica, of the working of the apprenticeship. The 
spectins the falling off of the crops since abolition, overseer of Belvidere estate declared that he knew 
111 order that the reader may know the extent of of many cases in which part of the land usually 
the failure in the aggregate island crops, we have planted in canes was thrown up, owing to the 
inserted in the appendix a table showing the " ex- general expectation that much less -work would be 
por s for fifty-three years, ending 31st December, done after abolition. He also mentioned one at- 
r. ' °°"'^«"^£.'i ''■«'", the journals of the House." torney who ordered all the estoies under his charse 
Jiy the disaffected planters, the diminished crops to be thrown out of cultivatiun ni 1834, so con- 
were hailed as 'an evident token of perdition." fident was he that the negroes would not work. 
1 liey had foretold that abolition would be the rum The name of this attorney was White Mr 
of cultivation, they had maintained that sugar, Gordon, of WiUiamsfield, stated, that the quanti- 
cottee, rum, &c., could not be produced extensive- ty of land planted in cane, in 1834, was consider- 
ly without the ^chlp of slavery, and, now they ably less than the usual amount : on some estates 
exulting y point to the short crops and say, " See it was less by twenty, and on others by forty acres, 
the results of abohtion !" We say exultingly. Now if such were the fact in the Parish of St, 
lor a portion of -the planters do really seem to re- Thomas in the East, where greater confidence 
joice in imy indication of rum. Having staked was felt probably than in any other parish we 
their reputation as prophets against their credit as have a clue by which we may conjecture (iif in- 
coionists and their interests as men, they seem deed we were left to conjecture) to what extent 
happy in the establishment of the former, even the cultivation was diminished in the island gen- 
though It be by the sacrifice of the latter. Said erally. This of itself would satisfactorily ac- 
an intelligent gentleman in St. Thomas in the count for the falling off in the crops— which at 
East, " The planters have set their hearts upon most is not above one third. Nor would this ex- 
ruin and they will be sorely disappointed if it plain the decrease in '34 only, for it is well known 
should not come." among sugar planters that a neglect of planting, 

Hearing so much said concerning the diminu- either total or partial, for one year, will affect tho 
tion of the crops, we spared no pains to ascertain crops for two or three successive years. 
the true causes. We satisfied ourselves that the The other cause of short crops has been the <ii- 
causes were mainly two. minished amount of time for labor. One fourth 

First. The prevailing impression that the ne- of the time now belongs to the laborers, and they 
groes would not work well nfter the abolition of often prefer to employ it in cultivating their pro- 
slavery, led many planters to throw apart of their vision grounds and carrying their produce to 
and out of cultivation, in 1834. This is a fact niarket. Thus the estate cultivation is necessarily 

impeded. This cause operates very extensively, 
particularly on two classes of estates : those which 
lie convenient to marketplaces, v/here the appren- 
tices have strong inducements to cultivate their 
grounds, and those (more numerous still) which 
have harsh overseers, to whom the apprentices are 
averse to hire their time — in which eases they will 
choose to work for neighboring planters, who are 
better men. We should not omit to add here, that 
owing to a singular fact, the falling oflf of the crops 
appears greater than it really has been. We 
learned from the most credible soi.. , sthat the size 



which was published by Lord Sligo, in an official 
account which he gave shortly before leaving Ja- 

secure these necessary attentions to the sick. Third, in 
ro?arcJ f<- jobbers, more exposed to liardships than any 
other class. A law is greatly required allowing thein the 
distance they may have to walk to their work, at the rate 
of three miles an hour, and for compelling the parties 
hii-in» theui to supply them with salt food and meal ; their 
gv^jiinds arc oftentimes so many miles distant, it is impos- 
sible lor them to supply themselves. Hence constant 
complaints and irregularities. Fourth, that mothers of six 
children and upwards, pregnant women, and the aged of 
both sexes, would be greatly benefited by a law enfor- 
cing the kind treatment which they received in slavery, 
but which ih ■ ' ■ ■ ■ ' 



s now considered op:ional, or is altogether of the hogsheads had been considerably enlarffed 



avoided on many properties. Fii'th, nothing would tend 
more to effect general contentment, and rejiress the evils 
of comparative treatment, than the issue of fish as a right 
by law. It was an indulgence in slavery seldom denied, 
but on many properties is now withheld, or given for e.x- 
tra labor instead of wages. Sixth, liis Excellency during 
the last sessions had the honor to address a mes.sagn to 
the house for a stronser definition of working time. The 
clause of ttie act in aid expressed that it was the intPiition 
of the legislature to regulate ' uniformity' of labor, but 
in practice there is still a great diversity of system. The 
legal adviser of the crown considers the clause active and 
binding ; the special magistrate cannot, therefore, adjudi- 
eate on disputes oi'labor under the eiaht hour system, and 
the consequences have been continual complaints and 
birkerinis between the magistrates and managers, and 
di.=coHtent among the apprentices by comparison of the ad- 
vantages which one system presents over the other. Sev- 
enth, if your honorable Iiousa would adopt some equit- 
able fixed principle for the value of apprentices desirous 
of purchasingtlieir dis'-harge, either by ascertained rates 
of weekly labor, or by fixed sums according to tlieir trade 
or occupation, wliLch should not be exceeded, and allowing 
the deduction of one third liom the extreme value for 
the contingencies of maintenance, clothing, medical aid, 
risk of lifo, ami health, it would greatly tend to set at rest 
one cause of constant disappointment. In proportion as 
the term of apprenticeship draws to a close, the demands 

FOR THE S.tLE OP SERVICES HAXfE GREATLY INCREASED. It 

is in the hojie that the honorable house will be disposed 
to enforce a more general system of equal treatment, 
that his Excellency now circumstantially represents what 
have been the most common causes of complaint among 
the apprentices, and why the island is suljject to the re- 
proach that the negroes, in some respects, aa'e now in a 
worse cpnditfon than the^y yvere in slavery." 



since abolition. Formerly they contained, on an 
average, eighteen hundred weight, now they vary 
from a ton to twenty-two hundred ! As the crops.d'j 
are estimated by the number of hogsheads, this -.sS 
will make a material difference. There were twoj 
reasons for enlarging in the hogsheads, — one was^ i(; 
to lessen the amount of certain port charges ittnir 
exportation, which were made by the hogshead ; 
the other, and perhaps the principal, was to create 
some foundation in appearance for the complaint 
that the crops had failed because of abolition. 
« While we feel fully warranted in stating these.ij;;- 
as the chief causes of the diminished crops, we.M 
are at the same time disposed to admit that the'-jg^ 
apprenticeship is in itself exceedingly ill calcula- 
ted either to encourage or to confpel industry. 
We must confess that wc have no special zeal to 
vindicate this system from its full share of blame ; 
but we are rather inclined to award to it every jot 
and tittle of the dishonored instrumentality which 
it has liad in working mischief to the colony. 
However, in all candor, we must say, that we can 
scarcely check the risings of exultation when we 
perceive that this party-fa ngled measure — this off- 
spring of old Slavery in her dying throes, which 
was expressly designed as a compensation to the 
p'Toprictor, has actcai.ly diminished his annual 
RETURNS BY ONE third! So may it ever be with 



JAMAICA. 



113 



legislation which is based on invjuity and rob- 
bery ! 

But the subject which excites the deepest inter- 
est in Jamaica is ike probable consequences of en- 
tire emancipation in 1840. The most common 
(liiinion among the prognosticators of evil is, that 
the emancipated negroes will abandon the cultiva- 
tion of all the staple products, retire to the woods, 
and live in a state of semi-barbarism ; and as a 
conspquence, the splendid sugar and coffee estates 
must be " thrown up, " and the beautiful and fer- 
tile island of Jamaica become a waste howling 
wilderness. 

The 7'C(^so?ix lor this opinion consist in part of 
naked assumptions, and in part of interences from 
supposed facts. The assumed reasons are such as 
these. The negroes will not cultivate the cane 
withmU the whip. How is this known 1 Simply 
because iAe?/ 7iever have, to any great extent, in Ja- 
maica. Such, it has been shown, was the opinion 
formerly in Barbadoes, but it has been forever ex- 
ploded there by experiment. Again, the negroes 
are naturalUj improvident, and will never have 
enough foresight to work steadily. What is the 
evidence of natural improvidence in the negroes'? 
Barely this — their carelessness in a state of sla- 
'very. But that furnishes no ground at all for 
judging of natural character, or of the devel- 
opments of character under a totally different sys- 
tem. If it testifies any thing, it is only this, that 
the natural disposition of the negroes is not always 
proof against the degenerating influences of sla- 
very.* Again, the actual wants of the negroes 
are very few and easily supplied, and they will un- 
doubtedly prefer going into the woods where they 
can live almost without labor, to toiling in the hot 
cane fields or climbing the coffee mountains. But 
they who urge this, lose sight of the fact that the 
negroes' are considerably civilized, and that, like 
other civilized people, they will seek for more than 
a supply for the necessities of the rudest state of 
nature. Their wants are already many, even in 
the degraded condition of slaves ; is it probable 
that they will be sV"'sfied with fewer of th"- covi- 
forts and luxurie's'of civilised life, when thej' are 
elevated to the sphere, and feel tiie self-respect and 
dignity of freemen'? But let us notice some of the 
reasons which profess to be founded on fact. 
They may all be resolved into two, the laziness of 
the nes^roes, and their tendency to barbarism. 

1. T.'he.y now refuse to work on Saturdays, even 
for wages. On this assertion we have several re- 
marks to make. 

(1.) It is true only to a partial extent. The 
apprentices on many estates — whether a majority 
or not it \r, impossible to say — do work for their 
masters on Saturdays, when their services are 
called for. 

("3.) They often refuse to work on the estates, 
because they can earn three or four times as much 
by cultivating their provision grounds and car- 
rying their produce to market. The ordinary 
day's wages on an estate is a quarter of a dollar, 
and where the apprentices are conveniently situa- 
tetl to market, tliey can make from seventy-five 
cents to a dollar a day with their provisions. 

(3.) The overseers are often such overbearing 
and detestable men. that the apprentices doutbless 
feel it a great relief to be freed from their command 

Probably in more instances ttian the one recorded in 
the foregoing cliapter, the iiuprovidcncc of the negroes is 
Inferred Iroiii tlieir otherwise unaccountable preference 
of w-allvini six or ten irules to chapel, rather than to work 
fcr a nxaocnroni a dav. 

8 



on Saturday, after submitting to it compulsorily 
for five days of the week. 

2. Anothf r fact from which the laziness of tlie ne- 
groes is inferred, is their neglecting tkeir provision 
grounds. It is said that they have fallen off greatly 
in their attention to their grounds, since the aboli- 
tion of slavery. This fact does not comport very 
well with the complaint, that the apprentices culti- 
vate their provision grounds to llie neglect of the 
estates. But both assertions may be tnie under 
opposite circumstances. On those estates which 
are situated near the market, provisions will be 
cultivated ; on those which are remote from the 
market, provisions will of course be partially ne- 
glected, and it will be more profitable to the ap- 
prentices to work on the estates at a quarter of a 
dollar per day, raising only enough provisions for 
their own use. But we ascertained another cir- 
cumstance which throws light on this point. 
The negroes expect, after emancipation, to lose 
their provision grounds-^ many expect certainly 
to be turned off by their masters, and many who 
have harsh masters, intend to leave, and seek 
homes on other estates, and all feel a great uncer- 
tainty about their situation after 1840 ; and con- 
sequently they can have but little encouragement 
to vigorous and extended cultivation of their 
grounds. Besides this, there are V(^iy maiiy cases 
in which the apprentices of one estate cultivate 
provision grounds on another estate. Where the 
manager is a man in whom they have more confi- 
dence than they have in their own " busha." 
They, of course, in such cases, abandon their 
former grounds, and consequently are charged 
with neglecting them through laziness. 

3. Another alleged fact is, that acLuoIly less ioork 
is done now than was done during slavery. The 
argument founded on this fact is this : ther.=! is less 
work done under the apprenticeship than was 
done during slavery : therefore no work at all will 
be done after entire freedom ! But the appren- 
ticeship allows one fourth less time for labor than 
slavery did, and presents no inducement, either 
compulsory or persuasive, to continued industry. 
Will it be replied that emancipation will take away 
all the time from labor, and offer no encouragement 
but to idleness 7 How is it now ] Do the ap- 
prentices work better or worse during their own 
time when they arc paid 1 Better, unquestionably. 
What does this prove "? That freedom will sup- 
ply both the time and the inducement to the most 
vigorous industry. 

The other reason for believing that the negroes 
will abandon estate-labor after entire emancipation, 
is their strong tendency to barbarism ! And what 
are the focts in proof of this? We know but one. 

We heard it said repeatedly that tlie appren- 
tices were not willing to have tlieir free eiiildren 
educated — that they had pertinaciously declined 
every offer of the bushas to educate their children, 
and this, it was alleged, evinced a deteimination 
on the part of the negroes to perpetuate ignorance 
and barbarism among their posterity. We heard 
from no less than four persons of distinction in 
St. Thomas in the East, the following curious 
fact. It was stated each time fir the double pur- 
pose of proving that the apprentices did not wish 
to have their children learn to u-urk, and that they 
were opposed to their receiving education. A 
company of the first gentlemen of that parish, 
consisting of the rector of the parish, the custos, 
the special magistrate, an attorney, and member 
of the assembly, etc., had mustered in imposing 
array, and proceeded to one of the Ig.-ge estates in 



114 



JAMAICA. 



the Plantain Garden River Valley, and there 
having called the apprentices together, made the 
following proposals to them respecting their free 
children, the rector acting as spokesman. The 
attorney would provide a teacher for the estate, 
and would give the children four hours' instruc- 
tion daily, if the parents would bind them to work 
four hours c very day ; the attorney further offered 
^o pay for all mediciS attendance the children 
should require. The apprentices, after due delib- 
eration among themselves, unanimously declined 
this pi-oposition. I: was repeatedly urged upon 
them, and the advantages it promised were held 
up to them ; but they persisted in declining it 
wholly. This was a great marvel to the plant- 
ers ; and they could not account for it in any 
other way than by supposing that the appren- 
tices were opposed both to labor and education, 
and were determined that their free children 
should grow up in ignorance and indolence ! Now 
the true reason why the apprentices rejected this 
proposal was, because it came from the planters, 
in whom they have no confidence. They sus- 
pected that some evil scheme was hid under the fair 
pretence of benevolence; the design of the plant- 
ers, as they firmly believed, was to get their free 
free children boimd to them, so that they might 
continue to keep them in a species of apprentice- 
ship. This was stated to us, as the real ground 
of the rejection, by several missionaries, who gave 
the best evidence that it was so ; viz. that at the 
same time that the apprentices declined the offer, 
they would send their free children six or eight 
miles to a school taught by a missionarif. We in- 
quired particulaily of some of the apprentices, to 
whom this offer was made, why they did not ac- 
cept it. They said that they could not trust their 
masters ; the whole design of it was to get them to 
give up th^ir children, and if they should give 
them up but for a single month, it would be the 
same as acknowledging that they (the parents) 
were not able to take care of them themselves. 
The busha would then send word to the Governor 
that the people had given up their children, not 
being able to support them, and the Governor 
would have the children bound to the busha, 
"and^Aew," said they, " ive might whistle for our 
children!" In this manner the apprentices, the 
parents, reasoned. They professed the greatest 
anxiety to have their children educated, Iput they 
said they could have no confidence in the honest 
intentions of their busha. 

The views given above, touching the results of 
entire emancipation in 1840, are not unanimously 
entertained even among the planters, and they are 
far from prevailing to any great extent among 
other classes of the community. The missionaries, 
as a body, a portion of the special magistrates, 
and most of the intelligent free colored people, an- 
ticipate glorious consequences ; they hail the ap- 
proach of 1840, as a deliverance from the oppres- 
sions of the appreniiceship, and its train of disaf- 
fections, complaints and incessant disputes. They 
say they have nothing to fear — nor has the island 
any thing to fear, but every thing to hope, from 
entire emancipation. We subjoin a specimen of 
the reasoning of the minority of the planters. 
They represent the idea that the negroes will 
abandon the estates, and I'etire to the woods, as 
wild and absurd in the extreme. They say the 
negroes have a great regard for the comforts 
which they enjoy on the estates ; they are 
strongly attached to their houses and little fur- 
niture, and their provision grounds. These 
are as much to them as the ' great house' and 



the estate are to their master.. Besides, p^ 
have very stro7ig local atiachments , and tisc 
would bind them to the properties. These pi t- 
ers also argue, from </ie ^rea?. willi7ign£ss oipt 
apprentices now to work for money, during 1 
own time, that they will not be likely to relinq 
labor when they are to get wages for the w 
time. There was no doubt much truth in the 
mark of a planter in St. Thomas in the East, 
if any estates were abandontd by the negroe; 
ter 1840, it would be those which had harsh n 
agers, and those which are so mountainous 
inaccessible, or barren, that they om^/(« to beal 
doned. It was the declaration of a planter, pt 
entire emancipation would regenerate the isl^ d 
of Jamaica. 



n 

,!ll 

k 

lat 
f- 

II- 
d 

ii- 

iit 



We now submit to the candid examinatioi 
the American, especially the Christian publicy 
results of our inquiries in Antigua, Barbadk 
and Jamaica. The deficiency of the narrativ\ 
ability and interest, we are sure is neither 
fault of the subject nor of the materials. Cc'i|d 
we have thrown into vivid forms a few only 
the numberless incidents of rare beauty wl! 
thronged our path — could we have imparted 
our pages that freshness and glow, which inv 
ed the institutions of freedom, just bursting i 
bloom over the late wastes of slavery — could 
in fine, have carried our readers amid the sccjS 
which we witnessed, and the sounds which i 
heard, and the things which we handled 
should not doubt the power and pennanenc« 
the impression produced. It is due to the ca\ 
and to the society under whose commission 
acted, frankly to state, that we were not select 
on account of any peculiar qualifications for 
work. As both of us were invalids, and com 
led to fly from the rigors of an American win 
it was believed that we might combine the 
provement of health, with the prosecution of : 
portant investigations, while abler men could t. 
be retained in the field at home ; but we found t 
the unexpected abundance of materials reqwi 
the strongest health and powers of endurance. ^ 
regret to add, that the continued ill health of b 
of us, since our return, so serious in the case 
one, as to deprive him almost wholly of part 
palion in the preparation of the work, has nee 
sarily delayed its appearance, and rendered .is 
execution more imperfect. 

We lay no claim to literaiy merit. To pres,t 
a simple narrative of facts, has been our sole a 
We have not given the results of our personal ! 
scrvations merely, or chiefly, nor have we mad i 
record of private impressions or idle speculatio , 
Well authenticated facts, accompanied with ; 
testimony, verbal and documentary, of put : 
men, planters, and other responsible individuc 
make up the body of the volume, as almost evt 
page will show. That no statements, if erroi 
ous, might escape detection and exposure, 
have, in nearly every case, given ihe names of c 
authorities. By so doing we may have subject 
ourselves to the censure of those respected gent 
men, with whose names we have taken such lib 
ty. We are assured, however, that their inter 
in the cause of freedom will quite reconcile th< 
to what otherwise might be an unpleasant p 
sonal publicity. 

Commending our narrative to the blessing 
the God of tratii, and the Redeemer of the oppre: 
ed, we send it forth to do its part, however hu: 
ble, toward the removal of slavery from o \ \ 
loved but guilty country. 



APPENDIX. 



. Wf. have in our possession a number of official 
iocuments from gentlemen, officers of the govern- 
ment, and variously connected with its adminis- 
iration, in the different islands which we visited; 
some of these — such as could not be conveniently 
incorporated into the body of the work — we in- 
sert in the form of an appendix. To insert them 
ill, would unduly increase the size of the present 
irolume. Those not embodied in this appendix, 
ivill be published in the periodicals of the Ameri- 
can Anti-Slavery Society. 



OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION FROM E. B. LYON, ESQ., 
SPECIAL MAGISTRATE. 

Ja'maica, Hillingdon, near FalmmUh, 
Trela-wney, May 15, 1837. 

To J. H. Kimball, Esa., and J. A. Thome, Esq. 

Dear Sirs, — Of the operation of the appren- 
iceship system in this district, from the slight op- 
lortunity I have had of observing the conduct of 
nanagers and apprentices, I could only speak 
ionjecturally, and my opinions, wanting the aU- 
hority of experience, would be of little service to 
^ou ; I shall therefore confine the remarks I have 
o make, to the operation of the system in the dis- 
,rict from which I have lately removed. 

I commenced ray duties in August, 1834, and 
Tom the paucity of special magistrates at that 
jventful era, I had the superintendence of a most 
!Xtensive district, comprising nearly one half of 
he populous parish of St. Thomas in the East, 
md the whole of the parish of St. David, embra- 
;ing an apprentice population of nearly eighteen 
housand, — in charge of which I continued until 
December, when I was relieved of St. David, and 
n March, 1835, my surveillance was confined to 
bat portion of St. Thomas in the East, consisting 
)f the coffee plantations in the Blue Mountains, 
md the sugar estates of the Blue Mountain Val- 
ey, over which I continued to preside until last 
Vlarch, a district containing a population of four 
housand two hundred and twenty-seven appren- 
ices, of which two thousand eighty-seven were 
nales, and two thousand one hundred and forty, 
females. The apprentices of the Blue Mountain 
Valley were, at the period of my assumption of 
ihe duties of a special magistrate, the most disor- 
ierly in the island. They were greatly excited, 
»Tid almost desperate from disappointment, in find- 
in'; their trammels under the new law, nearly as 
builensome as under the old, and their condition, 
in many respects, much more intolerable. They 
Were also extremely irritated at what they deemed 
an attempt upon the part of their masters to rob 
them of one of the greatest advantages they had 
been led to believe the new law secured to them— 
Ihis was the half of Friday. Special Justice 
Everard, who went through the district during 
the first two weeks of August, 1834, and who 
was the first special justice to read and explain the 
new law to them, had told them that the law gave 
to them the extra four and a half hours on the 
Friday, and some of the proprietors and mana- 
gers, who were desirous of preparing their people 
for ihe coming change, had likewise explained it 
ao; but, most unfoitunntely, the governor issued 



a proclamation, justifying the masters in with- 
holding the four and a half hours on that day, 
and substituting any other half day, or by work- 
ing them eight hours per daj-^, they miglit deprive 
them altogether of the advantage to be derived 
from the extra time, which, by the abolition of 
Sunday marketing, was almost indispensable to 
people whose grounds, in some instances, were 
many miles from their habitations, and who were 
above thirty miles from Kingston market, where 
prices were fifty per cent, more than the country 
markets in their favor for the articles they had to 
dispose of, and correspondingly lower for those 
they had to purchase. To be in time for which 
market, it was necessary to walk all Friday night, 
so that without the use of the previous half day, 
they could not procure their provisions, or prepare 
themselves for it. The deprivation of the half of 
Friday was therefore a serious hardship to them, 
and this, coupled to the previous assurance of their 
masters, and Special Justice Everard, that they 
were entitled to it, made them to suspect a fraud 
was about being practised on them, which, if they 
did not resist, would lead to the destruction of the 
remaining few privileges they possessed. The re- 
sistance was very general, but without violence ; 
whole gangs leaving the fields on the afternoon 
of Friday ; refusing to take any other afternoon, 
and sometimes leaving the estates for two or three 
days together. They fortunately had confidence 
in me — and I succeeded in restoring order, and all 
would have been well, — but the managers, no 
longer alarmed by the fear of rebellion or violence, 
began a system of retaliation and revenge, by 
withdrawing cooks, water-carriers, and nurses, 
from the field, by refusing medicine and admit- 
tance to the hospital to the apprentice children, 
and by compelling old and infirm people, who had 
been allowed to withdraw from labor, and moth- 
ers of six children, who were exempt by the slave 
law from hard labor, to come out and work in the 
field. All this had a natural tendency to create 
irritation, and did do so; though, to the great 
credit of the people, in many instances, they sub- 
mitted with the most extraordinary patience, tc 
evils which were the more onerous, because inflict- 
ed under the affected sanction of a law, whose ad- 
vent, as the herald of liberty, they had expected 
would have been attended with a train of bless- 
ings. I effected a change in this miserable state 
of things ; and mutual contract for labor, in crop 
and out of it, were made on twenty-five estates in 
my district, before, I believe, any arrangement 
had been made in other parts of the island, be- 
tween the managers and the apprentices ; so that 
from being in a more unsettled state than others, 
we were soon happily in a more prosperous one, 
and so continued. 

No peasantry in the most favored country on 
the globe, can have been more irreproachable in 
morals and conduct than the majority of appren- 
tices in that district, since the beginning of 1835. 
I have, month after month, in my despatches to 
the governor, had to record instances of excess of 
labor, compared with the quantity performed du- 
ring slavery, in some kinds of work; and while 
I have with pleasure reported the improving con- 



APPENDIX. 



dition, habits, manners, and the industry which 
charactprized the labors of the peasantry, I have 
not been an itidiffereiu or uninterested witness of 
the improv.'inent in the condition of many estates, 
the resuk of the judicious application of lal)or, 
and of the confidence in the future and sanguine 
expectations of the proprietors, evinced in the en- 
iargements of the works, and expensive and per- 
manent repair of the buildings on various estates, 
and in the high prices given for properties and 
land since the apprenticeship system, which would 
scarcely have commanded a purchaser, at any 
price, during the existence of slavery. 

I have invariably found the apprentices will- 
ing to work for an equitable hire, and on all the 
sugar estates, and several of the coffee plantations, 
in the district I speak of, they worked a consider- 
able portion of their own time during crop, about 
the works, for money, or an equivalent in her- 
rings, sugar, etc., to so great a degree, that less 
than the time allotted to them during slavery, was 
left for appropriation to the cultivation of their 
grounds, and for marketing, as the majority, very 
much to their credit, scrupulously avoided work- 
ing on the Sabbath day. 

In no community in the world is crime less 
prevalent. At the quarter sessions, in January 
last, for the precinct of St. Thomas in the East, 
and St. David, which contains an apprentice pop- 
ulation of about thirty thousand, there was only 
one apprentice tried. And the offences that have, 
in general, for the last eighteen months, been 
brought before me on estates, have been of the 
most trivial description, such as an individual oc- 
casionally turning out late, or some one of an ir- 
ritable temper answering impatiently, or for some 
trifling act of disobedience; in fact, the majority 
of apprentices on estates have been untainted with 
offence, and have steadily and quietly performed 
their duty, and respected the law. The appren- 
tices of St. Thomas in the East, I do not hesitate 
to say, are much superior in manners and morals 
to those who inhabit the towns. 

During the iirst six or eigiit months, while the 
planters were in doubt how far the endurance 
of their laborers might be taxed, the utmost defer- 
ence and respect was paid by them to the special 
magistrates; their suggestions or recommenda- 
tions were adopted without cavil, and opinions 
taken without reference to the letter of the law ; 
but when the obedience of the apprentice, and his 
strict deference to the law and its administrators, 
had inspired them with a consciousness of perfect 
security, I observed with much regret, a great al- 
teration in the deportment of many of the mana- 
gers towards myself and the people; trivial and 
insignificant complaints were astonishingly in- 
creased, and assaults on apprentices became more 
frequent, so that in the degree that the conduct of 
one party was more in accordance with the obli- 
gations imposed on him by the apprenticeship, 
was that of the other in opposition to it; again 
were the old and infirm harassed; again were 
mothers of six living children attempted to be 
forced to perform field labor; and again were moth- 
ers with sucking children complained of, and some 
attempts made to deprive them of the usual nurses. 

Such treatment was not calculated to promote 
cordiality between master and apprentice, and the 
effect will, I fear, have a very unfavorable influ- 
ence upon the working of many estates, at the 
termination of the system ; in fact, when that pe- 
riod arrives, if the feeling of estrangement be no 
worse, I am convinced it will be no better than it 



is at the present momen',, as I have witnessed nc 

pains taking on the part of the attorneys generallj I 
to attach the apprentices to the properties, or tc 
prepare them in a beneficial manner for the coming 
change. It was a very common practice in tlu 
district, when an apprentice was about to pur- 
chase his discharge, to attempt to intimidate hirr 
by threats of immediate ejectment from the prop- 
erty, and if in the face of this tiireatened separatior j 
from family and connections, he persevered and 
procured his release, then the sincerity of the pre- 1 
vious intimations was evinced by a peremptory,! 
order, to instantly quit the property, under th€ j 
penally of having the trespass act enforced againslji 
him ; and if my interference prevented any out-;] 
rageous violation of law, so many obstructioni-j 
and annoyances were placed in the way of hissj 
communication with his family, or enjoyment of; 
his domestic rights, that he would be compelled] 
for their peace, and his own personal convenience.-^ 
to submit to privations, which, as a slave, lunj 
would not have been subject to. The consequence' 
is, that those released from the obligations of theci 
apprenticeship by purchase, instead of being lo-ij 
cated, and laboring for hire upon the estate tctj 
which they were attached, and forming a nucleus 
around which others would have gathered andc 
settled themselves, they have been principallyv 
driven to find other homes, and in the majority of: 
instances have purchased land, and become set,-, 
tiers on their own account. If complete emanci-; 
pation bad taken place in 1834, there would havcv 
been no more excitement, and no more trouble to 
allay it, than that which was the consequence of ;j 
the introduction of the present system of coerced | 
and uncompensated labor. The relations of socie- 
ty would have been fixed upon a permanent basis, 
and the two orders would not have been placed 
in that situation of jealousy and suspicion which 
their present anomalous condition has been the 
baneful means of creating. j 

I am convinced there never was any serious I 
alarm about the consequences of immediate eman- i 
cipation among those who were acquainted withJ 
the peasantry of Jamaica. The fears of the mor- i 
bidly humane were purposely excited to increase * 
the amount of compensation, or to lengthen the j 
duration of the appreniiceship ; and the daily « 
ridiculous and unfaithful statements that ore made j 
by the vitiated portion of the Jamaica press, of j 
the indolence of the apprentices, their disinclina- ' 
tion to work in their own time, and the great in- , 
crease of crime, are purposely and insidiously put 
forward to prevent the fact of the industry, andi 
decorum, and deference to the law, of the people, 
and the prosperous condition of the estates, ap- 
pearing in too prominent a light, lest the friends ' 
of humanity, and the advocates for the equal i 
rights of men, should be encouraged to agitate for * 
the destruction of a system which, in its general j 
operation, has retained many of the worst features | 
of slavery, perpetuated many gross infringements 
of the social and domestic rights of the working 



classes; and which, instead of 



working out 



the 



benevolent intention of the imperial legislature, j 
by aiding and encouraging the expansion of in- | 
tellect, and supplying motives for the permanent ! 
good conduct of the apprentices, in its termination, ) 
has, I fear, retarded the rapidity with wliich civi- 
lization would have advanced, and sown the seeds i 
of a feeling more bitter than that which slavery, 
with all its abominations, had engendered. 
I am, dear sirs, your very faithful servant, 

EDMUND B. LYON, Special Justice, 



APPENDIX. 



117 



■Ebctract from a communication which we received 

from Wm. Henry Anderson, Esq., of Kingston, 

the Solicitor-General for Jamaica. 

The staples of the island must be cultivated 
afier ISIO as now, because if not, the negroes 
could not obtain the comforts or luxuries, of which 
they are undoubtedly very desirous, from cultiva- 
aon of their grounds. The fruits and roots ne- 
■pssary for the public markets are already sup- 
QJied in profusion at tolerably moderate prices: 
if the supply were greatly increased, the prices 
could not be remunerative. There is no way in 
v/hich they can so readily as by labor for wages, 
obtair momii, and therefore I hold that there must 
ever be an adequate supply of labor in the market. 

The negroes are in my opinion very acute in 
their perceptions of right and wrong, justice and 
injustice, and appreciate fully the benefits of equit- 
able legislation and would unreservedly submit 
to it where they Celt confidence in the purity of ita 
administration. 

There is not the slightest likelihood of rebellion 
on th" part of the negroes after 1840, unless some 
unrighteous attempts be made to keep up the he- 
lotism of the class by enactments of [tartial laws. 
Thcv could have no interest in rebellion, they 
could gain nothing by it; and might lose every 
thing ; nor do I tinnk they dream of such a thing. 
They are ardently attached 1 1 the British govern- 
ment, and would be so to the colonial government, 
were it to indicate by its enactments any purposes 
of kindness or protection towards them. Hitherto 
the scope of its legislation has been, in reference 
to them, almost exclusivply coercive; certainly 
there have been no enactments of a tendency to 
conciliate their good will or attachment. 

The negroes are much desirous of education 
•and religious instruction : no one who has attend- 
ed to the matter can gainsay that Formerly 
marriage was unknown amongst them ; they were 
in fact only regarded by their masters, and I fear 
by themselves too, as so many brutes for labor, 
and for increase. Now they seek the benefits of 
♦he social instittUion of marriage and its train of 
hallowed relationships: concubinage is becoming 
quite disreputable; many are seeking to repair 
their conduct by marriage to their former part- 
ners, and no one in any rank of life would be 
hardy enough to express disapprobation of those 
who have done or mav do so. 

WM. HENRY ANDERSON. 
Kingston, Jamaica, 2Uh April, 1837. 

The following communication is the monthly 
report for March, 1837, of Major J. B. Colthurst, 
special justice for District A., Rural Division, 
Barbadoes. 

The general conduct of the apprentices since 
my last report has been excellent, considering that 
greater demands have been made upon their labor 
at this moment to save perhaps the finest crop of 
canes ever grown in the island. 

Upon the large estates generally the best feeling 
exists, because they are in three cases out of four 
conducted by either the proprietors themselves, or 
attorneys and managers of sense and considera- 
tion. Here all things go on well ; the people are 
well provided and comfortable, and theiefore the 
best possible understanding prevails. 

The apjprentices in my district 'perform their 
work mod willingly, whenever the immediate 
manager is a man of sense and humanity. If this 
IS not the case, the effect is soon seen, and com- 
plaints begin to he made. Misunderstandings 



are usually confined t, the smaller estates, partic- 
ularly in the neighborhoodof Bridgetown, where 
the lots are very small, and the apprentice popu- 
lation of a less rural description, and more or less 
also corrupted by daily intercourse with the town. 
The working hours most generally in use in 
my district are as follows: On most estates, the 
apprentices work from six to nine, breakfast; 
from ten to one, dinner— rest ; from three to six, 

work. 

It is almost the constant practice of the appren- 
tices, particularly the praedials or rural portion, 
to work in their own time for mone^y wages, at 
the rate of a quarter dollar a day. They some- 
limes work also during those periods in their little 
gardens round their negro houses, and which they 
most generally enjoy without charge, or in the 
land they obtain in lieu of allowance, they seem 
Ar,WAYs well pleased to be fully employed at free 
labor, and work, when so employed, exceedingly 
well. I know a small estate, worked exclusively 
on this system. It is in excellent order, and the 
proprietor tells me his profits are greater than 
they would be under the apprenticeship. He is a 
sensible and correct man, and I therefore rely 
upon his information. During the hurry always 
attendant on the saving of the crop, the appren- 
tices are generally hired in their own time upon 
their respective estates at the above rate, and 
which they seldom refuse. No hesitation gene- 
rally occurs in this or any othei* matter, whenever 
the employer discharges his duty by them in a 
steady and considerate manner. 

The attendance at church throughout my dis- 
trict is most respectable ; but the accommodation, 
either in this respect or as regards schools, is by 
no means adequate to the wants of the people. 
The apprentices conduct themselves during divine 
service in the most correct manner, and it is mosl 
gratifying to perceive, that only very little exer- 
tion, indeed, would be required to render them 
excellent members of society. This fact is fully 
proved by the orderly situation of a few estates 
in my district, that have had the opportunity of 
receiving some moral and religious instruction. 
There are sixty-four estates in my district over 
twenty-five acres. Upon four of those plantations 
where the apprentices have been thus taught, there 
are a greater number of married couples (which 
may be considered a fair test) than upon the re- 
maining sixty. I scarcely ever have a complaint 
from these four estates, and they are generally re- 
ported to be in a most orderly state. 

In the memory of the oldest inhabitant, the is- 
land has never produced a finer mop of canes than 
that now in the course of manufacture. All other 
crops are luxuriant, and the plantations in a high 
state of agricultural cleanliness. The season has 
been very favorable. 

Under the head of general inquiry, I beg leave 
to oflFer a few remarks. I have now great pleasure 
in having it in my power to state, that a manifest 
change for the better has taken place gradually 
in my district within the last few months. As 
perities seem to be giving way to calm discussion, 
and the laws are better understood and obeyed. 

It is said in other colonies as well as here, that 
there has been, and still continues to be, a great 
want of natural affection among the negro parents 
for their children, and that great mortality among 
the free children has occurred in consequence. 
This opinion, I understand, has been lately ex- 
pressed in confident terms by the legislature of 
St. Vincent's, which has been fully and satisfao- 



118 



APPENDIX. 



torily contradicted by the reports of the special 
justices to the lieutenant-governor. The same 
assertion has been made by individuals to myself. 
As regards Barbadoes, I have spared no pains to 
discover whether such statements were facts, and 
I now am happy to say, that not a single instance 
of unnatural conduct on the part of the negro pa- 
rents to their children has come to my knowledge 
— far, perhaps too far, the contrary is the case; 
ocer indulgence and petting them seems in ray 
judgment to be the only matter the parents can 
be, with any justice, accused of. They exhibit 
their fondness in a thousand ways. Contrasting 
the actual conduct of the negro parents with the 
assertions of the planters, it is impossible not to 
infer that some bitterness is felt by the latter on the 
score of their lost authority. When this is the 
case, reaction is the natural consequence, and thus 
misunderstandings and complaints ensue. The 
like assertions are made with respect to the dis- 
inclination of the parents to send their children to 
school. This certainly does exist to a certain ex- 
tent, particularly to schools where the under classes 
of whites are taught, who often treat the negro 
children in a most imperious and hostile manner. 
As some proof that no decided objection exists in 
the negro to educate his children, a vast number 
of the apprentices of my district send them to 
school, and take pride in paying a bit a week 
each for them — a quarter dollar entrance and a 
quarter dollar for each vacation. Those schools 
are almost always conducted by a black man and 
his married wife. However, they are well at- 
tended, but are very few in number. 

To show that the apprentices fully estimate the 
blessings of education, many females hire their 
apprentice children at a quarter dollar a week 
from their masters, for the express purpose of 
sending them to school. This proves the possi- 
bility of a voluntary system of education succeed- 
ing, provided it was preceded by full and satisfac- 
tory explanation to the parties concerned. I have 
also little doubt that labor to the extent I speak 
of, may be successfully introduced when the ap- 
prentices become assured that nothing but the 
ultimate welfare of themselves and children is in- 
tended; but so suspicious are they from habit, 
and, as I said before, so profoundly ignorant of 
what may in truth and sincerity be meant only 
for their benefit, that it will require great caution 
and delicacy on the occasion. Those suspicions 
have not been matured in the negro's mind with- 
out cause — the whole history of slavery proves it. 
Such suspicions are even now only relinquished 
under doubts and apprehensions ; therefore, all 
new and material points, to be carried success- 
fully with them, should be proposed to them upon 
the most liberal and open grounds. 

J. B. COLTHURST, SpecialJustice Peace, 
District A, Rural Division. 



General retMrn of the imports and exports of the 
island of Barbadoes, during a series of years — 
furnished by the Custom-house officer at Biidge- 
town. 

£. .<;. 

1832 - - 481,610 6 

1833 - - 462,132 14 

1834 - - 449,789 12 

1835 - - 595,961 13 

1836 - - 622,128 19 



d. 
3 
4 
4 
2 

11 



1833 
1834 
1835 
1836 



IMPORTS OF LUMBER. 

Feet. Shingles. 

5,290,086 - 5,598,958 

5,708,494 - 5,506,646 

5,794,596 - 4,289,025 

7,196,189 - 7,037,462 

IMPORTS OF PROVISIONS. 

Flour. Corn Meal. 



Y'rs. 1 bbls. 



i bbls. 



1833 
1834 
1835 
1836 



21,535 
34,191 
32,'393 
41,975 



397 
865 
828 
433 



bush. 



629 

1675 

160 

823 



bbls. 



Bread and Biscuits. 



265 
1580 

809 
1123 

Oats & Corrrt 



Y'rs. 


hds. 


bbls. 


i bbls. 


kegs. 


bags. 


bags. 


qrs. 


1833 


49 


2146 


30 


(C 


(I 


430 


50^ 


1834 


401 


8561 


99 


57 


(I 


100 


1025 J 


1835 


2024 


10762 


t( 


K 


" 


2913 


31341 


1836 


4 


4048 


(C 


(C 


1058 


8168 


3119S 



IMPORTS OF CATTLE, ETC. 





Cattle. 




Horses. 


Mulel 


1833 


649 


- 


462 


65 


1834 


549 


. 


728 


24 


1835 


569 


. 


1047 


4:^. 


1836 


- 1013 


- 


1345 


104 




RETURN OF 


EXPORTS — SUGAR. 






hhds. 




trcs. 


bbls 


1832 


- 18,804 


- 


1278 


83.^ 


1833 


- 27,015 


. 


1505 


651 


1834 


- 27,593 


. 


1464 


108^ 


1835 


- 24,309 


- 


1417 


93^ 


1836 


- 25.060 


- 


1796 


tiiU 



VALUATIONS OF APPRENTICES IN JAMAICA. 

" From the 1st of August, 1834, to 31st of Mi; 
1836, 998 apprentices purchased their freedom 
valuation, and paid £33,998. From 31st Mii 
1836, to 1st November, in the same year, 582 i 
prentices purchased themselves, and paid £18,'<, 
—making, in all, £52,216— a prodigious sum 
be furnished by the negroes in two years. Pr.i 
the above statement it appears that the desire: 
be free is daily becoming more general and m 
intense, and that the price of liberty remains 
same, although the term of apprenticeship is 
creasing. The amount paid by the apprentii 
is a proof of the extent of the exertions and sa 
fices they are willing to make for freedom, wh| 
can scarcely be appreciated by those who are j 
acquainted with the disadvantages of their p 
vious condition. The negroes frequently ni 
the money by loans to purchase their freed(, 
and they are scrupulous in repaying money 1 
them for that purpose." 

The above is extracted from the West Inc 
in 1837," an English work by Messrs. Sturge i 
Harvey, page 86, Appendix. 

We insert the following tabular view of i 
crops in Jamaica for a series of years preced 
1837.— As the table and " Remarks" appem 
were first published in the St. Jago Gazette, a 
cided "pro-slavery" paper, we insert, in com 
tion with them, the remarks of the Jamaica Wai 
man, published at Kingston, and an article on 
present condition of slavery, from the Telegra 
published at Spanishtown, the seat of the coloi 
government. 



APPENDIX. 



119 



A GENERAL RETURN OF EXPORTS 

From, the islana of Jamaica, for 53 years, ending "ilst December, ISZ&— copied frmti the Journals of 

the House. 



.772 
773 

774 
770 
77G 

m\ 
79b': 

791 
792, 
793, 
791 
795^ 
796' 
797i 
79S 
799: 
-00 
=01 
=02 
B03 
?I>1 
305; 
?06 
?07 

509 

510 
?lll 
^121 
13 1 
ill 

)lo 

51-. 

!i7 

!19 

eo 
!2i: 

;22 
,23 
■24 
!2o 
',26 
27 
-23 

331 



bo 

o 

X 



n 



fi9,451 9,936 270 

72,996; ll,453i 849 

09,079; 9,250; 278 

75,291 9,090j 425 



83,036 
84,167 
8i.741 
85,447 

77,575 

89,532! 

88,851 ; 

89,219 

78,373; 

87,^9?; 

101.457( 

96,317; 

123.251 

129,544; 

107,3371 

1' 13.352: 

137,9061 

133.996' 

12^175; 

121,441 

104,457; 

10=1,703 

127,751 1 

10.5,2=3! 

97,-54^ i 

101,^46 

118.767 

93.831 

116,012 

1)3,818 

10=1,305 

11.5,0;5 

111.512 

88,.551 

94,905 

99,225 

73.^13 

99.978 

82.09;j 

91.912 

91, 304 

93.832 

8=.409 

91,153 

78,375 

77,801 

71,017 

61,6441 



9,256' 1,063 

10,078; 1,077 
9,2=4: 1,599 
8,037j 1,718 

6,722' 642 
11,158; 1,224 

9,537; 1,225 
10.700; 858 

9,963 1 753 
11,725 1.163 
13,538 1,321 
13,549 1,631 
18,701; 2,692 
15,403 2,403 
11,825 1,797 
12,302 2.207 
17,977; 3;639 
18,237! 3;.579 
17,-344' 3,716 
1.5,836: 2,625 
14,59j 3,.534 

4.5,';0 3.710 

15,235 3;046 

11.3.57: 2,558 

10,029; 2,304 

10.485, 2,.575 

12,224 2,sl7 

9,332 2,236 

11,094 2. =6= 

11,3=8 2,786 

11,450 3,'2}4 

11,322| 2,474 

11, '03 1,972 

8,705: 1,292 

9,179 1,947 

9.651 ; 2.791 

7,3=0 2,'^58l 

9,.514 3,126; 

7.435; 2.770, 

9.42-' 3.024! 

9.193i 3,20411 

8,739! 3.645 ; 

9,053 3.492!; 

9.937 4.600 

9.325! 4^074' 

9, -=60 3.0.55' 

8,840: 8,455'; 

7.707; 2,497:1 



RUM. 



3 
0. 



34,'/;k> 

39,'=43 

.37,6^ 

40,810 

2=.014 

40,823 

37,022 

37,166 

48,879 

45,632 

43.29= 

42,207 

53,211 

.5,8,191 

51.812 

52,409 

43,492 

42.3.53 

54.093 

43..346 

44.618 

43.436 

52,99; 

.35.736 

47.949 

50:i95 

43,946 

45,361 

46,802 

28,728 

35,242 

37,121 

27,630 

35,610 

31,^0 

36,58.- 

36,2=5 

33,355 

34.743; 

32.060: 

.3.3,215, 

30,495 

26,433i 

19.933; 



O 



879 
1,570 
1,475 
1,364 
1,463 
2,234 
1,981 
1,350 
1,514 
2.073 
1,416 

913 
1,3-28 
1,178 
1,998 
2,196 
2,717 
1,964 
2,011 
1,.531 
1,345 
1,.551 
1,465 

769 
1.094 
1,10s 
1,695 
1.7 
1,793 
1.124 
1.935 
3.261 
2,077 
3,093 
2,672 
2.79? 
2,1 IK*' 
2,6."i7 
2, =46 
2.570 
3,034 
2,583 
1,S20 
874 



473 



133 



3,32 

202 

574 

281 

203 

121 

602 

106 

153 

9 

20 

5 

101 

1,852 

1,.573 

1.013 

563 

1,367 

982 

1,362 

977 

1.233 

■747 

646 



MO. 

LAS 

SES. 



205 
167 



874 

1,146 

1,.393 

903 

916 

191 

1,558 

460 

534 

442 

IH 

64 

215 



366 
461 
429 
471 
499 
699 
379 
230 
293 
446 
151 
20=i 
145 
242 
166 
2.54 
407 
253 
252 
167 
144 
614 
910 
894; 
549, 
204 
189,' 

66; 

154' 
230 
799* 
755 

486 
300 

182 



GINOER. 



62 
121 

426 

';^o 

259 

119 

221 

444 

12 

23 

51 

1,094 

315 

485 

512 

436 

2,-321 

520 

1,110 

804 

816 

834 

1,493 

2,-354 

3,361 

2,526 

1,714 

1,1-59 

981 

891 

1,041 

2,230 

3,947 

5,724 

4,871 

5,-382 

4,101 

-3,494 

3.224 

4,702 

4,818 

5,925 

3,985 

5,224 



8,605 

10,305 

14,861 

20.275 

29,098 

18,454 

10,358 

3,586 

239 

2,079 

3,287 

1,854 

2,123 

1,818 

1,411 

1,470 

572 

1,881 

2,072 

1,235 

1,428 

1,668 

1,667 

1,118 

1,196 

1,067 

718 

31b 

271 

72 

60 

52 

348 

517 

240 

279 

168 

1 

22 
38 
23 
116 
486 
69 



PIMBNTO. 



as 

o 



420 

554 

95 

136 

328 

1.181 

1,766 

610 

648 

591 

867 

1,417 

288 

1.094 

525 

225 

24,022 

4,276 

6.38 

598 

1,124 

394 

844 

851 

946 

941 

882 

673 

1,224 

699 

1,894 

599 

537 

522 

3,236 

4,003 

3,7.33 

5.609 

2,84-1 

3,736 

7,741 

496 

1,115 

227 



n 



9,108 
22,153 
20,451 
9,s20 
2,9:!5 
8,961 
28.273 
12,7.59 
14,034 
7,793 
14,,875 
19,572 
7,157 
19,.534 
19,224 
6,529 
1,177 
21,163 
22,074 
7,778 
14,361 
10,711 
27,3=6 
23.0-17 
15,^=17 
21.071 
24,500 
12,.'=80 
24.82:^ 
18;672 
21,4^!1 
33,;^0B 
20.979 
16,4.33 
26,691 
25,352 
48,933 
37.925 
22,170 
27,936; 
58,581 
29,301 
59,033| 
46,779, 



COFFEB. 



•a 
a 
3 
o 

PL, 



841,558 
779,.303 
739,039 
493,981 

1,035,368 

1,493,2.32 
1,7,33,740 
2,299,874 



RBMARKS. 



of 



Bourbon cane 
ced. 



Mb 

• "lo 
introdu- 



August — destruction 
Saint Domingo. 
3,983,576 

4,911,549 

6,318,812 

7,203,539 

7,869,1-33 

' 894,306 
11,745,425 
11,116,474 
13,401,468 
17,961,923 
15,866,291 
22,063,P,'=0 
24,137,393 
29,298,0.36 
26,761.1,38 
29,528,273 
25,5-=6,668 
25,,=l^5,2.'=5 
17,460,068 
18.481.9^6 
24,623,572 
34,045,585 
27,362,742 
17,a39,.393 
14,793,706 
25,329,456 
14.091,9,83 
22,127,444 
16,819,761 
19,773,912 
20,326,445 
27,677,2.39 
21,254,6.56 
20,352,,386 Severe drought in 18^, 
25,741,5;0 the previous year. 
22,216,780 
22,2-34.640 
22.256,950 
14,055,350 
19,815,010! 

9,866,060, Emancipation act passed 
17,725,73l!Seasons favorable. 
10,593,018 do. 

13,446,0531 do. 



Largest sugar crop. 

March 25th, abolition of 
African slave trade. 



Storm in October, 1812. 
Largest coffee crop. 

Storm in October, 181S. 



Extreme drought. 
Mr. Canning's resolu- 
tions relative to slavery. 



The following are the remarks of the editor of 

ie Jamaica Watchman, on the foregoing, in his 
iperofAprilS, 1837:— 

A sjpneral return of exports from the island 
,x fifty-thrp-e years, ending the 31st December 
[St, and purporting to be extracted from the jour- 
^Is of the assembly, has been published, and as 
gpal, the decrease in the crops of the respective 
_^ars has been attributed to the resolutions passed 
. ;tlie British House of Commons in 1323, and 
ibohtion of slavery in 1833. It is remarkable 
,ij I" preparnig this table, a manifest disposition 



rf( 



^ ^vinced to account for the falling off of the 
^•ps in certain years anterior, and subsequent to 
.€ passing of Mr. Canning's memorable resolu- 



tions, whilst opposite to the years 1834 and 1835, 
IS written " seasons favorable." In 1813, the 
sugar crop fell off 8,000 hhds. compared with the 
previous year, and we are told in reference to 
this circumstance, that there was a storm in Oc- 
tober, 1812. This remark is evidently made to 
account for the decrease, and perhaps the storm 
at the close of the previous year was the cause of 
it. But it is astonishing-, and the circumstance 
is worthy of notice, that whilst the sugar crop fell 
off nearly 8,000 hhds. the coffee crop increased 
nearly six millions of pounds. We should have 
supposed that the coffee trees would have suffered 
more from the effects of a storm, than the canes. 
However, the effect wa? as we have staud it, 



120 



APPENDIX. 



whatever might have been the cause. In 1814, 
the largest coffee crop was made. Again, in 1816, 
there was a decrease in the sugar crop compared 
with the year immediately preceding it of nearly 
'ibftOO hhds. And here we have the storm of 
October, 1815, assigned as a reason. The coffee 
crop in this instance also fell off nearly ten mil- 
lions of pounds. In 1822, the sugar crop was 
reduced 2:^,000 hhds., and the coffee crop increased 
three millions of pounds. The reason now as- 
signed is an " extreme drought." The celebrated 
resolutions relative to slavery now appear to begin 
to exercise their baneful influence on the seasons 
and the soil of our island. In the year in which 
they were passed, 1823, 94,900 hogsheads of su- 
gar were made, and twenty millions of pounds of 
coffee gathered. 1824 came, and the crop, instead 
of being reduced, was increased from nearly 95,000 
hogsheads to upwards of 99,000 hogsheads. The 
coffee crop was also p'realer by seven millions of 
pounds. In 1825, they fell off to 73,800 hogs- 
heads and twenty-one millions. In 1826, the su- 
gar crop rather exceeded that of 1824, but the 
coffee crop was seven millions less. In 1827, 
from causes not known to us, for none were as- 
"Signed, there was a difference of 16,000 hhds. of 
"Sugar, and an increase of five millions of pounds 
""i^ coffee. 1828, 29, and 30, were pretty nearly 
alike in sna:ar and coffee crops, and about equal 
to 1823. The crops of 1831 fell off from 93 to 
88,000 hogsheads of sugar, and from 22 to 14 mil- 
lions of pounds of coffee. No reason is assigned 
for this reduction. It was during the continuance 
of tlie driving system, and therefore noblamecan 
attach to the managers. In 1832, the crop rose to 
91,000 hogsheads of sugar, and nearly twenty 
millions of pounds of coffee. But 1833 comes, 
and, with it, fresh troubles for the planters. In 
that ill-fated year, there was a decrease of 13,000 
hogsheads sugar, and of ten millions of pounds 
of coffee. Its sugar crop was tlie smallest made, 
with the exception of that of 1825, since 1793, and 
its coffee crop since that of 1798. But if this de- 
termination be alarming, what must be that of the 
succeeding years. Can we be blamed, if, in a 
strain truly lachrymal, we allude to the deductions 
which have annually been made from the misera- 
ble return v/hich 1833 gave to the unfoi-tunate 
proprietors of estates ?• What boots it to tell us 
that we have fingered thousands of pounds ster- 
ling, in the shape of compensation; and what 
consolation is it to know, that a hogshead of su- 
"• gar will now bring thirty pounds, which, a short 
*time ago, was only worth twelve. Let any unpreju- 
diced individual look at the return now before us, 
and say whether our prospects are not deplorably 
dull and obscure. If we take the four years im- 
mediately preceding the passing of Mr. Canning's 
resolutions, say 1819, 20, 21, and 22, we will find 
the average to be 105,858 hogsheads, and if from 
this we even deduct one fourth for the time now 
lost, there will be an average crop of 79,394 hhds., 
being 7,185 hogsheads more than the average of 
1833, 34, 35, and 36 ; and no one will deny that 
this falling off of one tenth, (supposing that the 
hogsheads made during the last four years are 
not larger than those of 1819 to 1822) is nearly, 
if not qui Le equal to the increase of price, from 
twelve to thirty pounds, or one hundred and fifty 
per cent. 

It is true some persons may be disposed to take 
the four yeai-s subsequent to the passing of Mr. 
Canning's resolutions, say 1823, 4, 5, and 6, and 
eompavo them with the four years ending 31st 



December last. Should this be done, it will 
found that the average crop of the previous f( 
years is 91,980 hhds., and if from it is deduc 
one fourth, there will remain 68,985 hhds., wh 
the average of the other four years is 72,200 hh 
Such a mode of comparison must, however, 
obviously incorrect; because, in the first pla 
Mr. Canning's resolutions had reduced the crc 
of those years considerably below the average 
the years immediately preceding them, and ne 
because it would show the advantage to be 
the side of freedom in the ratio of seventy-two 
sixty-nine, which cannot be correct. Besides, 
1824, there was a severe drought, whereas 
1834 and 35, the seasons are reported as bei 
favorable. Again, it is necessary, in instituti: 
such an inquiry, to go back more than fourtt; 
years ; nor is it a valid objection to this to se 
that even during that period a number of estai 
have been thrown out of cultivation, in conn 
quence of being worn out and unprofitah 
" Deplorable," however, as is the " falling off' 
the yearly amounts of our staple productioi 
which have decreased," gentle reader, accordil 
to the despatch, " in an accelerated ratio witll 
the last few years, till in the year 1836, wll 
they do not average one half the returns of form 
years preceding that of 1823, the year that I'. 
Canning's resolutions for the ultimate abolitt 
of slavery in the British colonies passed 
House of Commons," still it is a matter of sincii 
gratification to know, that the sugar planters ; 
better off now than they have been for the I 
fourteen or fifteen years. With the compensati 
money a great many of them have been enab! 
to pay off their English debts, and the remain'i 
very considerably to reduce them, whilst the red 
lion in the quantity of sugar produced, has oc 
sioned .such a rise in the price of that article as a^ 
place the former in easy circumstances, and ena 
the latter entirely to free themselves from the trs 
mels of English mortgagees, and the tender rri 
cies of English mortgagees before the 1st Augv 
1840, arrives. And ought these parties not tO' 
thankful ? Unquestionably they ought. Ingr 
itude, we arc told, is as the sin of withcraft, . 
although the table of exports exhibits our 1 
island as hastening to a state of ruin, and 
despatch tells us that " by the united influencf 
mock philanthropy, religious cant, and humbu 
a reformed parliament was forced " to precipili 
the slavery spoliation act under the specious j: 
text of promoting the industry and impro" 
the condition of the manumitted slaves," stil , 
maintain, and the reasonable will agree with I 
that we are much better off now than we h. ' 
been for a long time, and that Jamaica's brighi 
and happiest days have not yet dawned, 
the croakers remember the remarkable words 
the Tory Lord, Belmore, the planter's friend, f 
be silent — " The resources of this fine island v 
never be fully developed until slavery ccns' 
The happiness and prosperity of the inhabitf 
of Jamaica are not contingent, nor need they 
upon the number of hogsheads of sugar annut' 
exported from her shores. 



To the foregoing we add the remarks of' 
editor of the " Spanishtown Telegraph," on 
present state of the colonj', made in his pape 
May 9, 1837 ;— 

" When it was understood that the islan( 
Jamaica and the other British West Indian c*. 



APPENDIX 



m 



Jies were to undergo the blessed transition from 
lavny to freedom, it was the hourly cry of the 
iro-slavery party and press, that tlie ruin of Ja- 
Biaica would, as a natural consequence, follow 
liberty ! Commerce, said they, will cease ; hordes 
of barbarians will come upon us and drive us from 
cm- own properties : agriculture will be comi.letely 
paralyzf'd, and Jamaica, in the space of a flnv 
tliovt months, will be seen buried in ashes— n-re- 
t: u vably ruined. Such were the awful predic- 
ti.Mis of an unjust, illiberal faction!! Such the 
<^rsi fruits that wore to follow the incomparable 
hlrssings of liberty ! The staple productions of 
the island, it was vainly surmised, could never be 
cuUivated without the name of slavery ; rebellions, 
massacres, starvation, rapine and blood-shed, 
danced through the columns of the liberty-hating 
papers, in mazes of metaphorical confusion. In 
short, the name of freedom was, according to their 
assertions, directly calculated to overthrow our 
beautiful island, and involve it in one mass of 
ruin, unequalled in the annals of history ! ! But 
Avhal has been the result 1 AH their fearful fore- 
}Dodings and horrible predictions have been en- 
tirely disproved, and instead of liberty proving a 
curse, she has, on the contrary, unfolded her ban- 
ners, 'and, ere long, is likely to reign triumphant 
in our land. Banks, steam companies, railroads, 
ckarilil schools, etc., seem all to have remained 
^dormant until the time arrived when Jamaica was 
[to be enveloped in smoke ! No man thought of haz- 
arding his capital in an extensive banking estab- 
lishinent untW Jamaica's ruin, by the introduction 
of freedom, had been accomplished ! ! No person 
was found possessed of sufficient energy to speak 
of navigation companies in Jamaica's brightest 
days oAlavery ; but now that ruin stares every 
one in the face— now that we have no longer the 
power to treat our peasantry as we please, they 
have taken it into their heads to establish so ex- 
cellent an undertaking. Railroads were not dreamt 
of until darling slavery had {in a great measure) 
departed, and now, when we thought of throwing 
up our estates, and flying from the dangers of 
. emancipation,, the best projects are being set on 
foot, and what is worst, ar& likely to succeed! 
This is the way that our Jamaica folks, no doubt, 
reason with themselves. But the reasons for the 
delay which have taken place in the establish- 
ment of all these valuable undertakings, are too 
evident to require elucidation. We behold the 
Despatch and Chronicle, asserting the ruin of our 
island ; the overthrow of all order and society ; 
and with the knowledge of all this, they speak of 
the profits likely to result from steam navigation, 
banking establishments, and railroads ! What, in 
the name of conscience, can be the use of steam- 
vessels when Jamaica's ruin is so fast approach- 
ing] What are the planters and merchants to 
ship in steamers when the apprentices will not 
work, and there is nothing doing 1 How is the 
bank expected to advance money to the planters, 
when their total destruction has been accomplish- 
ed by the abolition of slavery 1 What, in the 
name of reason, can be the use of railroads, when 
commerce and agriculture have been nipped in the 
bud, by that baneful weed. Freedom. ? Let the un- 
just panderors of discord, the haters of liberty, an- 
swer. Let them consider what has all this time 
retarded the development of Jamaica's resources, 
and they will find that it was slavery; yes, it 
was its '-ery name which prevented the idea of 
undertakings such as are being brought about. 
Had it not been fov the ijitroducrion of freedom in 



our land ; had the cruel monster, Slavery, not 
partially disappeared, when would we have seen 
banks, steamers, or railroads 1 No man thought 
of hazarding his capital in the days of slavery, 
but now that a new era has burst upon us, a com- 
plete change has taken possession of the hearts of 
all just men, and they think of improving the 
blessing of freedom by the introduction of other 
things which must ever prove beneficial to the 

country. , 

" The vast improvements that are every day 



being effected in this i.sland, and throughout the 
other colonies, stamp the assertions of the pro- 
slavery party as the vilest falsehoods. They 
glory in the introduction of banks, steam-vessels 
and railroads, with the knowledge (as they would 
have us believe) that the island is fast vergin| 
into destrtiction. They speak of the utility and 
success of railroads, when, according to their 
showing, there is no produce to be sent to market, 
when agriculture has been paralyzed, and Jamaica 
swept to destruction." 



The following copious extracts from a speecn 
of Lord Brougham, on the workings of the ap- 
prenticeship, and on the immediate emancipation 
substituted therefor in Antigua and the Bermu- 
das, are specially commended to the notice of the 
reader The speech was delivered in the House 
of Lords, Feb. 20, 1838. We take it from the 
published report of the speech in the London 
Times, of Feb. 25 :— 

I now must approach that subject which has 
some time excited almost universal anxiety. Al- 
low me, however, first to remind your lordships— 
because that goes to the root of the evil— allow me 
first to remind you of the anxiety that existed pre- 
vious to the Emancipation Act. which was passed 
in January, 1833, coming into operation in Au- 
gust 1834. My lords, there was much to appre- 
hend from the character of the masters of the 
slaves. I know the nature of man. * * * * 
I know that he who has abused power clings to it 
with a yet more convulsive grasp. I know his 
revenge against those who have been rescued from 
his ty'rannous fangs ; I know that he never for- 
gives those whom he has injured, whether white 
or black. I have never yet met with an unfor- 
o-iving enemy, except in the person of one of 
whose injustice I had a right to complain. On 
the part of the slaves, my lords, I was not without 
anxiety; for I know the corrupt nature of the de- 
gradino-'system under which they groaned. * * * 
it was! therefore, I confess, my lords, with some 
anxipty that I looked forward to the 1st of Au- 
gust, 1834; and I yielded, though reluctantly, to 
the plan of an intermediate state before what was 
called the full enjoyment of freedom— the transi- 
tion condition of indentured apprenticeship. 

The first of August arrived— that day so con- 
fidently and jovously anticipated by the poor 
slaves, and so' sorely dreaded by their hard task- 
masters—and if ever there was a picture interest- 
inn- to look upon— if ever there was a passage in 
the history of a people redounding to their eternal 
l,(,nor— if ever there was a complete refutation of 
all the scandalous calumnies which had been 
heaped upon them for ages, as if in justification of 
the wrongs which we had done them— (Hear, 
lipar)— that picture and that passage are to be 
found in the uniform and unvarying history of 
that people throughout the whole o( the West In- 
dia islands. Instead of the fires of rebellion, lit 



122 



APPENDIX. 



by a feeling of lawless revenge and resistance to 
oppression, tlie whole of those islands were, like 
an Arabian sr.ene, illuminated by tlie li^ht of cun- 
tentment, joy, peace, and good-will towards all 
men. No civilized people, after gaining an un- 
expected victory, could have shown more delicacy 
a-.d forbearance than was exhibited by the slaves 
at the great moral consummation which they had 
attained. There was not a look or a gesture which 
could gall the eyes of their masters. Not a sound 
escaped from negro lips which could wound the 
ears of the most" feverish planter in the islands. 
All was joy, mutual congratulation, and hope. 

* * * * This peaceful joy, this delicacy 
towards the feelings of others, was all that was to 
be seen, heard, or "felt, on that occasion, through- 
out the West India islands. * * * ♦ It was 
held that the day of emancipation would be one 
of riot and debauchery, and that even the lives of 
the planters would be endangered. So far from 
this proving the case, the whole of the negro popu- 
lation kept it as a most sacred festival, and in 
this light I am convinced it will ever be viewed. 

* * * * In one island, where the bounty of 
nature seems to provoke the appetite to indulgence, 
and to scatter with a profuse hand all the means 
of excitement, I state the fact when I say not one 
drunken negro was found during the whole of the 
day. No less than 800,000 slaves were liberated 
in that one day, and their peaceful festivity was 
disturbed only on one estate, in one parish, by an 
irregularity which three or four persons sufficed 
to putdown.'J <!' *' 

Well, my Ibr'ds, baffled in their expectations 
that the first of August would prove a day of dis- 
turbance — baffled also in the expectation that no 
voluntary labor would be done — we were then 
told by the " practical men," to look forward to a 
later period. We have done so, and what have 
we seen ] Why, that from the time voluntary la- 
bor began, there was no want of men to work for 
hire, and that there was no difficulty in getting 
those who as apprentices had to give the planters 
certain hours of work, to extend, upon emergency, 
their period of labor, by hiring out their services 
for wages to strangers. I liave the authority of 
my noble friend behind me, (the Marquis of Sligo,) 
who very particularly inquired into the matter, 
when I state that on nine estates out of ten there 
was no difficulty in obtaining as much work as 
the owners had occasion for,' on the payment of 
wages. How does all this contrast with the pre- 
dictions of the " practical men V " Oh," said 
they, in 1833, " it is idle talking; the cartwhip 
must be used — without that stimulant no neoro 
will work— the nature of the negro is idle andln- 
dolent, and without the thought of the cartwhip is 
before his eyes he falls asleep— put the cartwhip 
aside and no labor will be done." Has '^is 
proved the ca--e 1 No, my lords, it has not ; and 
while every abundance of voluntary labor has been 
found, in no one instance has the stimulus of the 
cartwhip been found wantina:. The apprentices 
work well 'without the whijD, and wages have 
been found quite as good a stimulus as the scourge 
even to negro industry. " Oh, but," it is sa'id, 
'_' this may do in cotton planting and cotton pick- 
ing, and indigo making; but the cane will cease 
to grow, the operation of hoeing will be known 
no more, boiling will cease to be practised, and 
sugar-making will terminate entirely." Many, I 
know, were appalled by these reasonings, and the 
hopes of many were dissipated by these confident 
predicvJons of these so-deemed experienced men. 



But how stands the case now 7 My lords. I 

these experienced men come forthwith their' ej 
P*^.'']*^"'^e. I Will p tnu iiune aganibt it, and yo 
will find he will talk no more of his experienc 
when I tell him— tell him, too, without fear o 
contradiction— that during the year which foi 
lowed the first of August, 1834, twice as muc 
sugar per hour, and of a better quality as com 
pared with the preceding years, was storei 
tliroughout the sugar districts ; and that one man 
a large planter, has expressly avowed, that witli 
twenty freemen he could do more work than witl! 
a hundred slaves or fifty indentured apprentices- 
(Hear, hear.) But Antigua !— what has hap, 
pened there 1 There has not been even the systeno 
ot indentured apprentices. In Antioua and th*i 
Bermudas, as would have been the case at Monti 
serrat it the upper house had not thrown O'U thJ 
bi 1 which was prepared by the planters them^ 
selves, there had been no preparatory step. Iilj 
Antigua^and the Bermudas, since the first of Ami 
gust, 1834, not a slave or indentured apprentice 
was to be found. Well, had idleness reignectl 
there—had indolence supplanted work— had therci 
been any deficiency of crop 1 No. On the confli 
trary, there had been an increase, and not a dimMr 
nution of crop. (Hear.) But, then, it was saiec! 
that quiet could not be expected after slavery iEtj 
its most complete and abject form had so longij 
reigned paramount, and that any sudden emEnci-ll 
pation must endanger the peace of the islandssl 
The experience of the first of August at oncfi 
scattered to the winds that most fallacious proph-i 
ecy. Then it was said, only wait till Christmas.s:; 
for that is a period when, by all who have any prac^il 
tical knowledge of the negro character, a rebellionrjl 
on their part is most to" be apprehended. Wei 
did wait for this dreaded Christmas; and whatil 
was the result 1 I will go for it to Antigua, fori' 
it is the strongest case, there being there no in-i-i 
dentured apprentices — no preparatory state — noii' 
transition — the chains being at once knocked oif ,| 
and the negroes made at once free. For the firsti) 
time within the last thirty years, at the Christmassl 
of the year 1834, martial law was not proclaimed I 
in the island of Antigua. You talk of facts— here^ 
is one. You talk of experience — here it is. Andl 
with these facts and this experience before us, II 
call on those soi-disant men of experience — those' 
men who scoflfed at us — who Ir.ughed to scorn ati 
what they called our visionary, theoretical schemess 
— schemes that never could be carried into effect! 
without rebellion and the loss of the colonies— II 
say, my lords. I call on these experienced men to) 
come forward, and, if they can, deny one single 
iota of the statement I am now making. Leti 
those who thought that with the use of those '■ 
phrases, " aplanter of Jamaica " "the AVest India i 
interest," " residence in Jamaica and its experi- 
ence," they could make our balance kick the beam 
— let them, I say, hear what I tell, for it is but the 
fact — that when the chains were knocked offthere 
was not a single breach of the peace committed 
either on the day itself, or on the Christmas festi- 
val which followed. 

Well, my lords, beaten from these two posi- 
tions, where did the experienced men retreat to — 
under what flimsy pretext did they next undertake 
to disparage the poor negro race 1 Had I not 
seen it in print, and been otherwise informed oi 
the fact, I could not have believed it possible that 
from any reasonable man any such aljsurdity 
could issue. They actually held out this last fear, 
which, like the others, was fated to be dissipated 



APPENDIX 



lil3 



bv the fact. " Wait only," said they, till the 
anniversary of the first of August, and ihf-n you 
will see what the negro cliaracier is, and how 
liille these indenlured ap|)re,nticcs are fit to be 
entrusted with freedom." Was there ever such an 
absurdity uttered, as if, my lords, the man who 
icould meet with firm tranquillity and peaceful 
hankfulness the event itself, was likely to be 
raised to rebellion and rioting by the recollection 
of it a year afterwards. My lords, in considcr- 
ino- this matter, I ask you, then, to be guided by 
yolir own experience, and nothing else ; profit by 
It my lords, and turn it to your own account; for 
it, according to that book which all of us must 
revere teaches even the most foolish of a foolisfi 
race. 'l do not ask you to adopt as your own the 
experience of others ; you have as much as you 
can desire of your own, and by no other test do I 
wish or desire to be judged. But I think my task 
anay be said to be done. I think I have proved 
my case, for I have shown that the negro can 
woik without the stimulant of the whip; I have 
shown that he can labor for hire without any 
other motive than that of industry to inspire him. 
I have demonstrated that all over the West Indies, 
even when fatigued with working the allotted 
hours for the profit of his master, he can work 
ao-ain for wages for him who chooses to hire him 
tind has wherewithal to pay him ; I have also 
most distinctly shown that the experience of An- 
tigua and the Bermudas is demonstrative to show 
that without any state of preparation, vyithout 
any indenture of apprenticeship at all, he is fit to 
be intrusted with his freedom, and will work 
voluntarily as a free laborer for hire. But I have 
also demonstrated from the same experience, and 
by reference to th- same state of facts, that a more 
quiet inoffensive, peaceable, innocent people, is not 
to be found on the face of this earth than the 
iiegi-o — not in their own unhappy country, but 
after they have been removed from it and enslaved 
in your Christian land, made the victim of the 
barbarizing demon of civilized powers, and has 
all this character, if it were possible to corrupt it, 
and his feelings, if it were possible to pervert 
them, attempted to be corrupted and perverted by 
Chfistian and civilized men, and that in this state, 
with all incentives to misdemeanor poured 
around him, and all the temptation to misconduct 
which the arts and artifices and examples of 
civilized man can give hovering over him — that 
after this transition is made from slavery to ap- 
prenticeship, and from slavery to absolute freedom, 
a negro's spirit has been found to rival the 
unbroken tranquillity of the Caribbean Seas. 
(Cheers.) This was not the state of things we 
expected, my lords; and in proof that it was not 
so, I have but to refer you to the statute book 
itself. On what ground did you enact the inter- 
mediate state of indenture apprenticeship, and on 
what arguments did .you justify it 1 You fell and 
acknowiedged that the negro had a right to be 
free, and that you had no right to detain him in 
bondage. Every one admitted this, but in the 
prevailing ignorance of their character it was 
apprehended that they could not be made free at 
once, and that time was requisite to train the 
negro to receive the boon it was intended bestow- 
ins: upon him. 

This was the delusion which prevailed, and 
which was stated in the preamble of the statute — 
tne same dilusion which had made the men on one 
side state and the other to believe that it was neces- 
sary to pay the, 3l§vq-of:j[^ers,,fpr the loss it was 



supposed they would sustain. But it was found 
to be a baseless fear, and the only resuU of the 
phantom socoiijnred up was a pajnieiit of iweiiiy 
millions to the conjurors. (Hear, and a laugh.) 
Now, I maintain that had we known what we 
now know of the character of the negroes, neither 
would this compensation have been given to the 
slave-owners, nor we have been guilty of propos- 
in"- to keep the negro in slavery five years, after 
we were decided that he had a right to his free- 
dom The noble and learned lord here proceeded 
to contend that up to the present time the slave- 
owners, so far from being sufterers, had been 
gainers by the abolition of slavery and the enact- 
ment of the system of apprenticeship, and that 
consequently up to the present moment notliing 
had occurred to entitle them to a claim upon the 
compensation allotted by parliament. The slave- 
owners might be said to have pocketed the seven 
millions without having the least claim to them, 
and therefore, in considering the proposition he 
was tibout to make, parliament shor.ld bear in 
mind that the slave proprietors were, if anything, 
the debtors to the nation. The money had, in 
fact, been paid to them by mistake, and, were the 
transaction one between man and man, an action 
for its recovery might lie. But the slave-owners 
alleged that if the apprenticeship were now done 
away there would be a loss, and that to meet that 
loss they had a right to the money. For argu- 
ment's sake he would suppose this to be true, and 
that there would be loss ; but would it not be fair 
that the money should be lodged in the hands of a 
third party, with authority to pay back at the ex- 
piration of the two.years whatever rateable sum 
the master could prove himself to have lost ] His 
firm belief was, that no loss couid arise; but, 
desirous to meet the planter at every point, he 
should have no objection to make terms with him. 
Let him, then, pay the money into court, as it 
were, and at the end of two years he should be 
fully indemnified for any loss he might prove. He 
called upon their lordships to look to Antigua and 
the Bermudas for proof that the free negro worked 
well, and that no loss was occasioned to the 
planters or their property by the granting of 
emancipation. But it was said that there was a 
difference between the cases of Antigua and other 
colonies, such as Jamaica, and it was urged that 
while the negioes of the former, from the sinall- 
ness and barrenness of the place, would be forced 
into work, that in the latter they would run away, 
and take refuge in the woods. Now, he asked, 
why should the negro run away from his work, 
on being made free, more than during the con- 
tinuance of his apprenticeship'? Why, again, 
should it be supposed that on the 1st of August, 
1840, the emancipated negroes should have less 
inclination to betake themselves to the woods than 
in 1838 1 If there was a risk of the slaves running 
to the woods in 1838, that risk would be increased 
and not diminished during the intermediate period 
up to 1840, by the treatment they were receiv- 
ing from their masters, and the deferring of their 
hopes. 

My lords, (continued the noble lord,) 1 have 
now to say a few words upon the treatment which 
the slaves have received during the past three 
years of their apprenticeship, and which, it is al- 
leged, during the next two years is to make them 
fitted for absolute emancipation. My lords, I art. 
prepared to show that in most respects the treat- 
ment the slaves have received since 1834 is no 
better, and in many others more unjust and worse, 



1:24 



APPENDIX. 



than it ever was in the time of absolute shivery. 
It is true that the use of the cartwhip as a stimu- 
lus to labor has been abolisiied. This, I admit, 
is a great and most satisfactory improvement; 
but, in every other particular, the state of the slave, 
I am prepared to show, is not improved, and, in 
many respects, it is materially worse. First, with 
regard to the article of food, I will compare the 
Jamaica prison allowance with that allotted to 
the apprenticed negroes in otlier colonies. In the 
Jamaica prison the allowance of rice is 14 pints 
a week to each person. I have no return of the 
allowance to the indentured apprentice in Jamaica, 
but I believe it is little over this ; but in Barbadoes 
and the Leeward Islands, it is much under. In 
Barbadoes, instead of recieivi ng the Jamaica prison 
allowance of 14 pints a week, the apprenticed 
negro received but 10 pints; while in the Lee- 
ward Islands he had but 8 pints. In the crOwn 
colonies, before 1834, the slave received 21 pints 
of rice, now the apprentice gets but 10; so that in 
the material article, food, no improvement in tlie 
condition of the negro was observable. Then, 
with regard to time, it is obviously of the utmost 
importance that the apprentice should have at 
least two holidays and a half a week — the Sab- 
bath for religious worship and instruction, the 
Saturday to attend the markets, and half of Fri- 
day to work in his own garden. The act of 
emancipation specified 45 hours a week as the 
period the apprentice was to work for his master, 
but the master so contrived matters as in most in- 
stances to make the 45 hours the law allotted him 
run into the apprentice's half of Friday, and even 
in some cases into the Saturday. The planter 
invariably counted the time from the moment that 
the slave commenced his work; and as it often 
occurs tliat his residence was on the border of the 
estate, lie may have to walk five or six miles to 
get to tlic place he has to work. This was a point 
which he was sure their lordships would agree 
with him in thinking required alteration. 

The next topic to which I shall advert relates 
to the administration of justice; and this large 
and irnportant subject I cannot pass over without 
a word to remind your lordships how little safe it 
is, how little deserving (he name of just, or any 
thing like just, that where you have two classes 
you should separate them into conflicting parties, 
until they become so exasperated in their resent- 
ment as scarcely to regard each other as brethren 
of the same species ; and that you should place 
all the administration of justice in the hands of 
one dominant class, whose principles, whose pas- 
sions, whose interests, are all likely to be preferred 
by the judges when they presume to sit v/here you 
have placed them on the judgment seat. The 
chief and puisne judges are raised to their situa- 
tions from amongst the class which includes the 
white men and planters. But, worse than that, 
the jurors are taken from the same privileged 
body : jurors, who are to assess civil damages in 
actions for injuries done to the negroes — ^jurors, 
who are to try bills of indictment against the 
whites for the maltreatment of the blacks— jurors 
who are to convict or acquit on thosebills — jurors 
who are to try the slaves themselves — nay, magis- 
trates, jailors, turnkeys, the whole apparatus of 
justice, both administrative and executive, exclu- 
sively in the hands of one race ! What is the con- 
sequence? Why, it is f proverbial that no bills are 
found for the blacks. (Hear, hear) Six bills of 
indictment were preferred, some for murder and 
som.3 fur biui manslaughter, and at one assizes 



everyone of these six indictments was thrown out: 
Assizes after assizes the same thing happened, 
until at letigtli wagers were held thai^no such bill 
would be found, and no one was found to accept 
them. Well was it for tliem that they declmed, 
for every one of the bills preferred was ignored. 
Now, observe that in proceedings, as your lord- 
ships know, before grand jurors, not a tittle of { 
evidence is heard for the prisoners; every witness 
is in favor of the indictment, or finding of the | 
bill ; but in all these instances the bills were flung ' 
out on the examination of evidence solely againsl 
the prisoner. Even in the worst cases of murder, i 
as certainly and plainly committed as the suni 
shmes at noon day, monstrous to all, the billsj 
were thrown out when half the witnesses foi- the 
prosecution remained to be examined. (Hear,] 
hear.) Some individuals swore against the pris-- 
oners, and though others tendered their evidence/ 
the jury refused to hear them. (Hear, hear.) Be-- 
sides, the punishments inflicted are monstrous;; 
thirty-nine lashes are inflicted for the vague, in-- 
definite — because incapable to be defined— offence e 
of insolence. Thirty-nine lashes for the graves 
and the more definite, I admit, offence of an at-- 
tempt to carry a small knife. Three months im-- 
prisonment, or fifty lashes, for the equally grave ■ 
oflfence of cutting off the shoot of a cane plant! ' 
There seems to have prevailed at all times amongst : 
the governors of our colonies a feeling, of which, , 
I grieve to say, the governors at home have ever • 
and anon largely partaken, that there is some- • 
thing in the nature of a slave — something in the 
habits of the African negro — something in the 
disposition of the unfortunate hapless victims of 
our own crimes and cruelties, which makes what 
is mercy and justice to other men cruelty to society 
and injustice to the law in the case of the negro, 
and which condemns offences slightly visited, if 
visited at all, with punishment, when committed 
by other men, to the sentence that for his obdurate 
nature none can be too severe. (Hear, hear.) As 
if we had any one to blame but ourselves — as if 
we had any right to visit on him that character 
if it were obdurate, those habits if they were in- 
subordinate, that dishonest disposition if it did 
corrupt his character, all of which I deny, and 
which experience proves to be contrary to the fact 
and truth; but even if these statements were all 
truth instead of being foully slanderous and ab- 
solutely false, we, of all men. have ourselves to 
blame, ourselves to tax, and ourselves to punish, 
at least for the self abasement, for we have been 
the very causes of corrupting the negro character. ,. 
(Cheers.) | 

If some capricious despot, in his career of ordi- ' 
nary tyranny, were to tax his imagination to pro- 
duce something more monstrous and unnatural 
than himself, and were to place a dove amongst 
vultures, or engraft a thorn on the olive tree, much 
as we should marvel at the caprice, we should be 
still more astounded at the expectation, which ex- 
ceeds even a tyrant's proverbial unreasonableness, 
that he should gather grapes from the thorn, or 
that the dove should be habituated to a thirst for 
blood. Yet that is the caprice, that is the unrea- 
sonable, the foul, the gross, the monstrous, the 
outrageous, incredible injustice of which we are 
hourly guilty towards the whole unhappy race ot 
negroes. (Cheers.) My lords, we fill up the mea- 
sure of injustice by severely executing laws badly 
conceived in a still /nore atrocious and cruel spirit. 
The whole punishments smell of blood. (Hear 
hear.) If the treadmill stop in consequence of the 



APPENDIX, 



125 



lans^uid limbs and exhausted frames of the victims, 
within a minute the lash resounds through the 
buildina; — if the stones which they are set to break 
be not broken by limbs scarred, and marred, and 
whaled, they are summoned by the crack of the 
whip to their toilsome task ! I myself have heard 
within the last three hours, from a person who 
was an eye-witness of the appalling and disgust- 
ing fact, that a leper was introduced amongst the 
negroes; and in passing let me remark, that in 
private houses or hospitals no more care has been 
taken to separate those who are stricken with in- 
fectious diseases from the sound portion, any more 
than to furnish, food to those in prison who are 
compelled, from the unheard-of, tlie paltry, the 
mistrable disposition to treat with cnuelty the vic- 
tims of a prison, to go out and gather their own 
food, — a thing which I believe even the tyrant of 
Siberia does not commit. Yet in that prison, 
where blood flows profusely, and the limbs of 
those human beings are subjected to perpetual 
torture, the frigluful, llie nauseous, the disgusting 
— except that all other feelings are lost in pity 
tov/ards the victim and indignation against the 
oppressor — sight was presented of a leper, scarred 
from the eruptions of disease on his legs and pre- 
vious mistreatment, whaled again and again, and 
his blood again made to flow from the jailer's 
lash. I have told your lordships how bills have 
been thrown out for murdering the negroes. But 
a man had a bill presented for this offence: a pe- 
tition was preferred, and by a white man. Yes, 
a white man who had dared, under feelings of 
excited indignation, to complain to the regularly 
constituted authorities, instead of receiving for his 
gallant conduct the thanks of the community, had 
a bill found which was presented against him as 
a nuisance. I have, within the last two hours, 
amid the new mass of papers laid before your 
lordships within the last forty-eight hours, culled 
a sample which, I believe, represents the whole 
odious mass. 

Eleven females have been flogged, starved, lash- 
ed, attached to the treadmill, and compelled to 
work until nature could no longer endure their 
suflferings. At the moment when the wretched 
victims were about to fall off — when they could 
no longer bring down the mechanism and con- 
tinue the movement, jthey were suspended by their 
arms, and at each revolution of the wheel receiv- 
ed new wounds on their members, until, in the 
language of that law so grossly outraged in their 
persons, they " languished and died." Ask you 
if a crime of this murderous nature went unvisit- 
ed, and if no inquiry was made respecting its 
circumstances! The forms of justice were observ- 
ed ; the handmaid was present, but the sacred 
mistress was far away. A coroner's inquest was 
called; for the laws decreed that no such injuries 
sliould take place without having an inquiry in- 
stituted. Eleven inquisitions were held, eleven 
inquiries were made, eleven verdicts were return- 
ed. For murder 1 Manslaughter! Misconduct 1 
No; but that they died by the visitation of God." 
A lie — a perjury— a blasphemy! The visitation 
of God! Yes, for of the visitations of the Divine 
being by which the inscrutable purposes of his 
will are mysteriously worked out, one of the most 
mysterious is the power which, from time to time, 
is allowed by him to be exercised by the wicked 
for the torment of the innocent. (Cheers.) But of 
those visitations prescribed by Divine Providence 
there is one yot more inscrutable, for which it is 
*iill more difRcult to aiRx a reason, and that is, 



when heaven rolls down on this earth the Judg- 
ment, not of scorpions, or the plague of pestilence, 
or famine, or war — but incomparably the worse 
plague, the worser judgment, of the injustice of 
judges who become betrayers of the law — perjur- 
ed, wicked men, who abuse the law which they 
are sworn to administer, in oider to gratify their 
own foul passions, to take the part of the wrong- 
doer against his victim, and to forswear them- 
selves on God's gospel, in order that justice may 
not be done. ♦ * * ♦ My lords, I entirely concur 
in what was formerly said by Mr. Burke, and 
afterwards repeated by Mr. Canning, that while 
the making of laws was confined to the owners 
of slaves, nothing they did was ever found real 
or effectual. And when, perchance, any thing 
was accomplished, it had not, as Mr. Burke said, 
" an executive principle." But, when they find 
you determined to do your duty, it is proved, by 
the example which they have given in passing the 
Apprenticeship Amendment Act. that they will 
even outstrip you to prevent your interference wi'.n 
them. ♦ ♦ ♦ * Place the negroes on the same 
footing with other men, and give them the un- 
controlled power over their time and labor, and 
it will become the interest of the planter, as well 
as the rest of the community, to treat the negro 
well, for their comfort and happiness depend on 
his industry and good behavior. It is a conse- 
quence perfectly clear, notwithstanding former 
distinctions, notwithstanding the difference of 
color and the variety of race in that population, 
the negro and the West Indian will in a very few 
generations — when the clank of his chain is no 
longer heard, when the oppression of the master 
can vex no more, when equal rights are enjoyed 
by all, and all have a common interest in the gen- 
eral prosperity — be impressed with a sense of their 
having an equal share in the promotion of the 
public welfare; nay, that social improvement, 
the progress of knowledge, civility, and even re- 
finement itself, will proceed as rapidly and diffuse 
itself as universally in the islands of the Western 
Ocean as in any part of her Majesty's domin- 
ions. ♦ * • • 

I see no danger in the immediate emancipation 
of the negro ; I see no possible injury in termi- 
nating the apprenticeship, (which we now have 
found should never have been adopted,) and in 
causing it to cease for slaves previous to August, 
1838, at that date, as those subsequent to that date 
must in that case be exempt. * * * * I r'"^;:rd the 
freedom of the negro as accomplished and sure. 
Why"? Because it is his right — because he has 
shown himself fit for it — because a pretext or a sha- 
dow of a pretext can no longer be devised for 
withholding that right from its possessor. I know 
that all men now take a part in the question, and 
that they will no longer bear to be imposed upon 
now they are well informed. My reliance is 
firm and unflinching upon the great change which 
I have witnessed — the education of the people un- 
fettered by party or by sect — from the beginning 
of its progress, I may say from the hour of its 
birth. Yes ; it was not for a humble man like me 
to assist at royal births with the illustrious prince 
who condescended to grace the pageant of this 
opening session, or the great captain and states- 
man in whose presence I now am proud to speak. 
But with that illustrious prince and with the father 
of the Queen I assisted at that other birth, more 
conspicuous still. With them and with the lord 
of the house of Russel I watched over its cradle— 
I marked its growth — I rejoiced in its strength — 1 



.26 



INDEX. 



witnessed its maturity — I have been spared to see 
it ascend the very heig^ht of supreme power— di- 
i-ecting the councils of the state — accelerating eve- 
ry great improvement — uniting itself with every 
good work — propping honorable and useful in- 
stitutions — extirpating abuses in all our institu- 
tions — passing the bounds of our dominion, and 
in the new world, as in the old, proclaiming that 
freedom is the birthright of man — that distinction 
of color gives no title to oppression — that the 
chains now loosened must be struck off, and even 
the marks they jiave left effaced by the same eter- 
nal law of our nature which makes nations the 
masters of their own destiny, and which in Eu- 
rope has caused every tyrant's throne to quake. 
But they need feel no alarm at the progress of 
rigiit who defend a limited monarchy and support 
their popular institutions — who place their chiefest 
pride not in ruling over slaves, be they white or be 
they black — not in protecting the oppressor, but 
in wealing a constitutional c^rown, in holding the 
sword of justice with the hand of mercy, in being 
the first citizen of a country whose air is too pure 
for slavery to breathe, and on whose shores, if the 
captive's foot but touch, his fetters of themselves 
fall off". (Ohcvrs.) To the resistless progress of 
this great principle I look with a confidence which 
nothing can shake; it makes all improvement 
certain — it makes all change safe which it produ- 
ces; for none can be brought about, unless ail 
has been accomplished in a cautious and salutary 
spirit. So now the fulness of time is come; for 
our duty being at length diiicharged to the Afri- 
can captive, I have demonstrated to you that 
every thing is ordered — every previous step taken 
— all safe, by experience shown to be safe, for the 



long-desired consummation. The time has comi 
— the trial has been made — the hour is striking 
you have no longer a pretext for hesitation, o 
faltering, or delay. The slave has shewn, by fou 
years' blameless behavior and devotion, unsur 
passed by any English peasant, to the pursuits o i 
peaceful industry, that he is as fit for his freedon ' 
as any lord whom I now address. I demand hi: ' 
rights— I demand his liberty without stint, in th< 
name of Justice and of law — in the name of rea 
son — in the name of God, who has given you nc 
right to work injustice. I demand that your broi 
ther be no longer trampled upon as your slave! 
(Hear, hear.) 1 make my appeal to the Com-{ 
mons, who represent the free people of England I; 
and I require at their hands the performance of 
that condition for which they paid so enormous £; 
price — that condition which all their constituents' 
are in breathless anxiety to see fulfilled ! 1 appea, 
to this house — the hereditary judges of the first 
tribunal in the world— to you I appeal for justice,! 
Patrons of all the arts that humanize mankind,! 
under your protection I place humanity herself f 
To the merciful Sovereign of a free people I call! 
aloud for mercy to the hundreds of thousands ini 
whose behalf half a million of her Christian sis- 
ters have cried aloud, that their cry may not have 
risen in vain. But first I turn my eye to the 
throne of all justice, and devoutly humbling my- 
self before Him who is of purer eyes than lo be- 
hold any longer such vast iniquities — I implore 
that the curse over ovu- heads of unjust oppression 
be averted from us — that your hearts may be turn- 
ed to mercy — and that over all the earth His will 
may at length be done! 



INDEX. 



Absconding from labor, 98, 108. 

Accident in a boiling house, 18. 

Aged negro, 13. 

Allowance to Apprentices, 59. 

"Amalgamation," 8, 21, 64, 70, 75, 
00, 91. [Consul.) 

American Consul, 17, 86. {Sec 

American Prejudice, 90. 

Aimiy Hall Estate, 07. 

Anderson, VVm. H. Esq., 85, 117. 

Anguilla, 21, 84. _ [20. 

Annual Meeting of Missionaries, 

Antigua, Dimensions of, 7. 
" Sugar Crop of, 7. 

Applewhitte, Mr., 61. 

Appraisement of Apprentices, 62, 
65, 67, SO, 102. 

Apprentice, Provisions respecting 
the, 81. 

Appreiiticeship compared with 
slavery, 101. 

Apprenticeship -System, 81. 
" Design of, 82. 

" Good eflisct of, 83. 

" No preparation for 

freedom, 83. [85, 110. 

Apprenticeship, Operation of, 82, 

Apprenticeship, Opinion of", in An- 
tigua, 14 ; — in Harbadoes, 54, 63, 
65;— in Jamaica, 97, 105. 

Apprentices liberated, 67. 

Apprentices' work compared with 
slaves, 55, 69, 93, 98, 100. 

Archdeacon of Antigua, 20. 

" of Barbadoes, 54, 70. 

Aristocracy of Antigua, 8. 

Armstrong, Mr. H., 9, 20, 38, 46, 
4B, 49 52. 



Ashby, Colonel, 61. 
Athill, Mr., 17. 
Attachment to home, 46. 
Attorney General of Jamaica, 85. 
Attendance on Church, 8, 95, 100. 
August, First of, 1834, 16,36,55,65. 

Baijer, Hon. Samuel 0., 35. 

Baines, Major, 93. 

Banks, Rev. Mr., 21. 

Baptist Chapel, 99. 

Baptists in Jamaica, 86. 

Barbadoes, 53. 

Barbuda, 39. 

Barber in Bridgetown, V6. 

Barclay. Alexander, Esq., 96. 

Barnard, Samuel, Esq., 14, 34, 35, 

40, 46. 
Barrow, Colonel, 64, 77. 
Bath, 94. 
Bazaar, 17. 
Bell, Dr., 59, 60. 

Belle Estate, 63. [51. 

Pell not tolled for colored person, 
''Belly, 'blige 'em to work," 16. 
Belmore, Lord, 97. 
Belvidere Estate, 92. [gua, 27. 
Benevolent institutions of Anti- 
Bihle Society, 22, 27. 
Bishop of Barbadoes^ 70. 
Blessings of Abolition, 80. (See 

Morals, &c.) 
Blind man, 8. 
Boiling House, 9. 
Bookkeepers, Slavery of, 98. 
"Bornin' Ground," 46. 
Bourne, Mr. London, 75. 
Bourne, Mr. S., (of .\ntigua,) 9, 



17, 37, 3S, 40, 42, 43, 46, 47, 49, 
50, 52. 

Bourne, Stephen, Esq., (of Ja- 
maica,) 101, 109. 

Breakfast at Mr. Bourne's, 75. 
" at Mr. Prescod's, 74, 
" at Mr. Thome's, 73. 

Briant, Mr., 93. 

Bridgetown, 53. 

Brown, Colonel, 39. 

Brown, Thomas C, 75. 

C, Mr., of Barbadoes, 55. 

"Cage,'' 11. 

Cane cultivated by apprentices on- 

their own ground, 64. 
Cane-cutting, 42. 
Cane-holing, 9. 
Cecil, Mr., 61. 
Cedar Hall, 18. 
Chamberlain, R. 



Esq., 97. 



Change of opinion in regard to 
slavery, 7, 10, 16, 17, 34, 39, 49, 
54, 55, 58, 60, 61, 62, 66, 69, 70, 
80, 85. 

Chapel erected by apprentices, 93. 

Character of colored people, 12, 19. 

Cheesborough, Re~. Mr., 21. 

Children, care of, 63, 102. (See 
Free.) 

Christmas, 11, 37. 

Church, Established, 25. 

Civility of negroes, 8, 9, 57, 65, 103. 

Clarke, Dr., 65. 

Clarke, Hon. R. B., 65. 

Clarke, Mr., 61. 

Classification of apprentices, 93. 

Coddrington Estate, 60. 



C.^ddrington, Sa Chnstopher, 39. 
'Coriee Estates, 101. 
'■lege. Coddrington, 60. 
L lion Estate, 59. 
roiorea Architect, 90. 

Editors, 74, 89, 90. 
Lady, 93. 
" Lesislators, 89. 
" 2»Iasisiraies, 17, 66, 89. 
Merchants, ir, 64, 75. 
" Puiiceiuen, 67, 68. 

Popnlanon, 72, 86, 89. 
•' Proprietor, 17. 
" Teachers. 75. 
Colthursi, Mijor, 65, 66, 69. 117 
Complaints to Special Magis- 
"aies, 57, 65, 65, 67, 69, 70, 97, 

-. 101, 102, 105, 107. 
^ncubinage, 26, 76, 79. L34. 

Condition of the negroes, changed, 
Coniiuct of the Emancipated on 
the first of Ausust, 1834, 18, 36, 
55, 65. 
Confidence increased, 43, 56, 60. 
Conjugal attachment, 62. 
Consul, American, at Aniigua, 17. 
" " at Jamaica, b6. 

Constabulary force, colored, 34. 
Contribuiions for religious pur- 
poses. 25. [man, 15. 
Conversation with a negro boat- 
Conversation with negroes on 
H^rvev's estate, IS. [5S, 92. 
Conversaioa with apprentices, 
Corbett, Mr., Trial of, 51. 
Corner stone laid, 23. 
Courts in Barbadoes, 68. 
Courts in Jamaica, 98. 
Cox, Rev. James, 7, S. 23, 51. 
Cranstoun, Mr., 17, 35, 38, 40, 41, 

42, 49, 52. 
Crimes. Diminution of, 39, 43, 44, 

OT. 60, 62, 65, 6S, 69, 70, 73, 94. 
Crimtsin Jamaica, 103, 116. 
Crookes, Rev. Mr., 92. 
Crops in Barbadoes, 55, 59, 63, 65, 

69,70, 117, 118. 
Crops in Jamaica, 104, 106, 112, 

lis, 119. 
Cruelty of slavery, 61, 62, 77, 92. 
to apprentices, 93, 100, 101, 
105, lOS. [Crops.) 

Cultivation in Barbadoes, 73. (See 
Cultivation in Jamaica, 102, 104. 
Cummins, Mr., 64, 73. 
Cummins, Rev. Mr., 71. 
Cuppage. Captain, 68. 
Custom House returns, Barba- 
does, lis. 

Dailv meal Society, 28. 

Dangers of slavery, 3S. 

Danie!!, Dr., 14, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 
41, 42, 46, 47, 43, 49, 52. 

Death-bed oi" a planter, 58. 

Deception, 67. 

Defect of law, 105. 

Demerara, Apprenticeship in, 60. 

Desire for instruction, 95, 103, 117, 
lis. 

Dinner at Mr. Harris's, 72. 

" at the Governor's, 10,54,65. 

Disabilities of colored peoplo, 74, 
SS. 

Discussion, Effect of, 52, 54. 56. 

Distinction between serring and. 
being property. 16. 
■ Distressed Females' Friend So- 
ciety, 29. 

Disnirbances, Reason of, 115. 

Docility of the negroes, 41, 60, 66, 
95. 

Domesiic Aporentices, 106. 

Duaovnn's Estate, 11. 

Drax Hall. 64. 



INDEX 

Dress in Antigua, 8. ^^ 
" Driver and overseer, 9. 
Drought in Antigua, 7, 9, 12, 13, 

15, 16, 40. 
Dublm Castle Estate, 101. 
Duncan, Mr., 96. 
Dungeons in Antigua, 17, 19. 
" m Barbadoes, 77. 

Economy of the negroes, 12, 47, 

45, 103. 

Edgecomb Estate, 64, 

Edmonson, Rev. Jonathan, 86. 

Education of Apprentices, 104. 
" in Antigua, 29. 

" in Barbaaoes. (See 
iSc/mw's.) l31- 

Education. Queries on, replied to, 
" Results, in regard to, 32. 

Edwards, Colonel, 10, 35. 

Eldridge, R. B., Esq , 34, 37, 47. 

Elliot, Rev. Edward, 54. 

Emancipation, Immediate, 116. 
(See Preparation, &c.) 

Emancipation, Motives of, in An- 
tigua, 35. 

Emigrants from Europe, 101. 

Employments of the colored, 69. 

English Delegation, 51. 

Enrolment of colored militia, 37. 

Escape of slaves from French 
islands, 53. 

E.xpeclations in regard to 1838 and 
1640, 56. 59, 60, 62, 63, 66, 69, 70, 
SO, 85, 86, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98, 
104, 113, 117. . 

Expense of free compared with 
slave labor, 15, 40. 

Expense of Apprenticeship com- 
pared with slavery, 56. 

Explanation of terms, 6. [ll9. 

Exports of Jamaica for 53 years. 

Fair of St. John's, 17. 
Favey, Mr., 15, 38, 40, 42. 
Feeding in Barbadoes, 77, 78. 
Feeling, intense, of the negroe?. 
Females in the field, 9. [100. 

Fences wanting in Antigua, 9. 
Ferguson, Dr , 11,33, 39, 49. 
Fines upon the planters, 64. 
Fire in the canes, 61. 
Fitch's Creek Estate, 9. 
Flogging, 55, 77, 93, 105, 111. 

" machine, 95, 

Forten, James, 76. 
Four and a half per cent tax, 35. 
Eraser, Rev. Edward, 20. 

•' Mrs., , 21. 

Free children, 108, 113, 114. 

Freedom in Antigua, 33. 

Free labor less expensive, 15, 40. 

Freeman, Count, 92. 

Frey's Estate, 16. 

Friendly Societies, 13, 28. 

Fright of American vessels, 36. 

Galloway, Mr., 65, 66. 
Gangs, Division ofi 12. 
Gardiner, Rev. Mr., 86. 
Gilbert. Rev. N., 7. 
Girl sold bv her mother, 29. 
Gitters, Rev. Mr., 59. 
Golden Grove Estate, »6. 
Gordon, Mr., 93. 
Governor of .\niigua, 7. 

" of Barbadoes, 54. 
Grace Bay, IS. 
Grenada, 54. 

" Grandfather Jacob," 19. 
Gratitude of the Negroes, 47, 65, 95. 
"Grecian Resale," 101. 
Green Castle Estate, 13. 
Green Wall Estate, 92. 
Guadaloupe, 53. ^ 



127 

Guarda Costas, 53. 

" Gubner poisoned," 82. 

H., Mr., an American, 73. 
Hamilton, Capt., 65, 66, 70. 
Hamilton, Cheny, Esq., 104. 
Hamilton, Rev. Mr., 73. 
Harrison, Colonel, 86. 
Harris, Thomas, Esq., 72, 73. 
Harvev, Rev. B., 7, 24, 25. 
Hailey, Mr., 16, 40, 41, 49. 
Heroism of colored women, 108L 
Higginboihom, Ralph, Esq., 17,3%. 

40, 50, 51, 52. 
Hill, Richard, Esq., 89, 104. 
Hinkston, Samuel, Esq., 59. 
Holberton, Rev. Robert, 8. 
Holidavsin Antigua, 11. 
Home,' Rev. Mr., 23,24. 
" Horse," 61. 
Horton Estate, 64. 
Horsford, Hon. Paul, 10. 
Hostility to Emancipation, 80. 

(See also Change, <f-c.) 
House of Correction, 91, 93. 
Howell, Mr., (of Jamaica,) 92. 
Howell, James, Esq., 12, 41, 43 

45, 46, 47, 48, 49, £1, 5-2. 
Hurricane, 39. 

Imports and Exports of Barba 
does, 115. . . 

Improvement since Emancipation, 
7, 10, 59, 65. 78. (See JVIorals.) 

Indolence of Apprentices, 96, 102. 
of Whites, 79. [40. 

Industry of Emancipated Slaves, 

Industry of Apprentices, 65, 74, 108 

Infanticide, 58, 77. 

Insolence, 47, 60, 67, 98, 108. 

Insubordination, 93. (See Subor- 
dination.) . [78. 

Insurrection in Barbadoes in 1516, 

Insurrection not feared in Anti- 
gua, 15, 17,37; nor in Barba- 
does, 56, 67, 73, 79 ; nor in Ja- 
maica, 103. 

Intelligence of blacks, 58, 103, aa 
compared with whites, 32, 7L 

Intemperance in Antigua, 26. (See 
'Temperance.) 

Intermixture, 21, 71. (See alsa 
Amaleamalion.) 

Internaf Improvement, 121. 

Jamaica, 85. 
Jarvis, Colonel, 10. 
Jobs, 9, 17, 20. 
Jocken, Mr., 94. 
Jones, Mr~, 63. 

Jones, Rev. Mr., 16, 39, 60, 65. 
Jones, T. Watkins, S. M., 111. 
Jordon, Edward, Esq., 88. 
Jury ou the body of a negro wo- 
man, 104. 
" Juvenile Association," 14, 29. 

Kingdon, Rev. Mr., 99. 
Kingston, 85. 
Kirkland, Mr., 97. 

Law, respect for. 43, 45, 56, 64, 65 

69, 70, 94, 100, 106, 108. 
Lear's Estate, 55, 57. 
Legislature of Anugua, 39. 
Letter to a Special Magistrate, lift 
License to marr\', 79. 
Licentiousness, 26, 76, 79. 
Liahthouse, 80. „ , , , 
Lock-up house at Si. John s, 1. 
Lyon, K. B., Esq., 116. 
Lyon s Estate, 15. ■ 

Machinery, Labor-saving, 49. 
Manasers, Testimony oC 9, 10, 11 
12, 13, 14, 15, 17,20,34, &C 



128 

Marichioneal, 97. 

Market in St. John's, 11. 

Market people, 57, 6G, 101. 

Maroons, 94. 

Marriage, 26, 68, 71, 73, 108, 117. 

Marshall, Mr., 63. 

Martinique, 53. 

Master' .s power over the appren- 
tice, 81. 

McCornock, Thomas, Esq., 96, 

McGregor, Sir Evan, J. M., 54. 

Megass, 11. 

Merchants, Testimony of, 49. 

Message of Sir Lionel Smith, 111, 

MicoCharirv Infant School, 95. 

Millar's Estate, 9. 

Missionaries, Wesleyan, 20, 24. 

Missionary a.ssociations, 28. 

Society, Wesleyan, 22. 

Mob, Pro-Slavery, in Barbadoes, 
71. 

Muhne, Mr. and Mrs., 18, 

Moniserrat, 21, 84. 

Morals, iiiiproveuientof, 11, 12, 17, 
26, 27, 31, 48, 58, 71, 73, 79, 108, 
117. 
Morant Bay, 92. 
Moravian Chapel, 8. 

Missionary, 35. 
Moravians, 7, 25, 72. 
Morrish, Rev. Mr., 15, 38. 
Mule-traveling, 102. 
Murder of a planler, 14, 7.S. 
Musgrave, Dr., 10. 

Negro Grounds, 103, 106. 

Negro quarters, 97. 

Nevis, 84. 

Nevvby, Mr., 18, 32. 

Newf^fld, visit to, 15. 

Noble tiiiit in the apprentices, 93. 

Nugent, Hon. Nicholas, 15,23,34, 

35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 46, 47, 48, 49 

50, 52. 

Obstacles to free labor in Antigua, 

20. 
Old school tyrant, 92. 
Opinions in Antigua in regard to 

Emancipation, 39. 
Opinions of the United States, 66. 
Opposition to slavery in Jamaica, 

10,9. 
O'Reily, Hon. Dowel, 85. 
Osborne, Mr., 89. 
Overseers, 77, 102, 104, 106. 

Packer, Rev. Mr., 62, 63, 71. 
Parry, Archdeacon, 20, 30. 
Partiality of the Special Magis- 
trates, 68, 73, 74, 93, 100, 106, 

108. [17, sel 

Peaceableness of negro villages, 

Peaceableness of the change from 
slavery to freedom, 36. 

Peaceableness of the negro char- 
acter, 100. [109. 

Persecution of a Special Justice! 

Peter's Rock, 103. 

Phillips, Rev. Mr., 107. 

Physician, Testimony of, 11. 

Pigeol, Mr., 62. 

Plantain Garden River Valley, 96. 

Planter, a severe one, 63. 

Planters cruelty of, 94, 98. 
" in Barbadoes, 72, 74 

Plough, 9. 

Police Court, 90. 
1^ of Antigua, 34. 
" Officers, Testimony of, 64. 
Reports, 41, 43. 

Policy of colftred people in regard 
to prpju(iice, 7.5. 

Port Royal, 92, 101. 

Prejudice against c,n\nf, 8, lo, 15, 



INDEX. 

21, 51, 56, 70, 71, 74, 75^ 76, 79, 

85. ' 

"Prejudice Bell," 51. 
Preparation for freedom, 15, 21, 54 

55, 56, 63, 64, 65, 68, 69, 70, 83! 

85, 92, 108. 
Prescod, Mr., 72, 74. 
• Promiscuous seating in church, 8. 

(See ''Amalgamation,'" 4'c.) 
Proprietor, teslimony of, 10, 14. 
Pro-slavei*y pretences, 113. 
Providence of the emancipated, 47, 

48. [the, 57 

Provost Marshal, Testimony of 
Punishment, cruel. 111. 
Punishments in Antigua, 34. 

Ramsay, Mr. 107. 

Real Estate, 49, 56, 59, 60, 64, 65, 
68, 70, 7.3, 74, 103, 104. 

Rebellion, so called, 94. 

Rector of St. John's, 25. 

" Red Shanks," 67. 

Reid, Mr. E., 87. 

Religion in Antigua, 25; in Barba- 
does, 70, 117; in Jamaica, 86, 95, 
100. 

Religious condition of slaves in 

Aniigua, 12. [117. 

. Religious instruction desired, 107, 

Report of a Special Magistrate, 1 1 7. 

Resolution in regard to Messrs. 
Thome and Kimball, 23. 

Resolutions ofWesleyan Mission- 
aries, 24. 

Respect for the aged, 8. 

Results in Antigua, 25. 

Revengeful ness, 69, 70, 95. 

Ridge Estate, 01. 

Right of suffrage, 34. 

Rogers, Mr., 95. 

Ross, A., Esq., 98. 

Rowe, Rev. Mr., 71. 

Rum, use of, in Antigua, 12. 

Sabbath in Antigua, 8, 26 ; in Bar- 
badoes, 58; in Jamaica, 86, 99. 

Sabbath school in Bridgetown, 71. 

Safety of immediate emancipation, 
10, 65, 69. (See Insurrections.) 

School, arlult, 15; at Lear's^ 58; 
Parochial, 29; Wolmer Free, 87. 

Schools in Antigua, 29; in Bridge- 
town, 71; infant, 17, 30 ; in 
Kingston, 87 ; in Spanishtown, 
107. 

Scotland in Barbadoes, 57. 

Scotland, James, Esq., 38,42,49,50. 

Scotland, J., Jr., Esq., 20, 41. 

Security restored, 56, 57, 64, 69, 70, 
85, 106. 

Self-emancipation, 62,65,67,70,106. 
Self-respect, 48. 
Shands, Mr. S., 35. 
Shiel, Mr., 10. 
Shrewsbury, Rev. Mr., 72. 
Sickness, pretended, 12, 55, 96. 
Silver Hill, 102. 
Sligo, Lord, 10,', 109. 
Smith, Sir Lionel, 92, 109, 111. 
Social intercourse, 75. 
Societies, benevolent, 27. 
Society among colored people, 13. 
" for promotion of Christian 

itnowlcdire, 29, 60. 
Soldiers, black, 54. 
Solicitor General of Barbadoes,65, 
" of Jamaica, 85, 117. 
Song sung in the schools, 32. 
Spanishtowti, 104. [16. 

" Speaking," a Moravian custom, 
Special Magistrates, 81, 82, 95, 110. 

(See also Partiality.) 
Special Magistrates, Testimony 

of, 64, 115, 117. 



St. Andrews, 92, 101. 

Station House, A. 67 

St. Christopher's, 84. 

St. Lucia, 84. 

St>ock Keepers, 9. 

St. Thomas in the East, 92. [103, 

gturge & Harvey, Messrs , 51, SD, 

gt. Vm cent's, 84. ; 

Subordination, 41, 64, 93, 97, lis! 

Sugar Crop, z:-,, 59. 

cultivation hard for tha 
slave, 61. ^ 

Sugar Mill, 10, 58. 

Sunday Markets, 58. 

Superintendent of Police, 43, 68 

Suspension of faithful magis 
trates, 109. 

Task-work, 62. 
Teacher, Black, 71, 75. 
Teachers, 30, 33. 
"Telegraph," Remarks of the, \2C 
Temperance in Antigua, 10, 12, 26 

of negroes, 92. [26 

Society, 21. 
Testimony of Managers, 11, 12, IS 
14, 15, 17,20, 34. ' ' •♦ 

Testimony of clergymen and mii 

sionaries, 16, 20, 24, 70. 
Testimony of Governors, 7, 54. 

\\ of magistraies, 43, 64 

rru r J of physicians, 11. 
Iheft, decrease of, 56. 
Thibou Jarvis's estate, 12. 
Thomas, Mr., 59, 60, 62. 
Thompson, George, Bust of, 51. 
1 homson, Thomas, Esq,, 92, 93 
Thorne, Mr., 72, 73, 74. 
Thwaites, Mr. Charles, 31, 'jz. 
Tinson, Rev. Mr., 86. [tion, flf 
Toast to Immediate Emancii.a 
Toriola, 21, 84. 
Traffic in Slaves, 7S. 
Transition from slavery to free 

doin, 16, 36, 55, 65. 
Treatment of slaves ameliorated 

by discussion, 52, 54. 
Treadmill, 91, 93, 100, 110. 
Trinidad, 84. 
Trustworthiness, 62. 



Unwilling witness, 63. 

Vagrancy, 46. 

Value of an apprentice, 81. (ftei 

Appraisement.) 
Villa Estate, 17. 

Wages, 9, 14, 17, 18, 33, 40. 56, 59. 

63, 65, 70, 74, 86 93, 96, 9S, LOU. 

102, 106, 116, 117. 
Walton, Rev. Mr., 21. 
Watchman, Jamaica, 88. 

Remarks of the, 119, 
Watkins, Mr., 9, 11, 38, 40, 42, 46, 
Ward, Sir Henry, 72. [47 

Weatherill's Estate, 14. 
Wesleyan Chapel, Antigua, 5 
:; :' .^'e«-. ■" 23 

Missionary Societv, 22 . 
Wesleyans in Antigua, 25. 
" in Barbadoes, 71. 

" in Jamaica, 86. 

Whip banished, 9, 17, 64. 
Whippingpost, 11. 
White lady, 97. 
Wilberforce, opinion of, 02, 80. 
Wickham, Richard S., 41, 43. 
Willis, George, Esq., 94. 
Wilioughby Bay, Examination,31 
Wolmer Free School, 87. 
Women abandon the field, 63 ', 

" condition of, 48. : 

Wooldridge, Rev. Mr., 86. 
Wright. Andrew, Esq., 92. 



i 



